26.3.07

New word : Ganjineering

I think a FAQ structure is appropriate here.

Ganj?
In Bangladesh, a lot of the towns and districts have the suffix 'ganj'. For example Sirajganj, Munshiganj, Zakiganj, Habiganj and (deep breath) Chapanawabganj. Farsi used to be the language of power in preBritish colonial times, until they banned it, and ganj means 'storehouse' in that language. Over the years the word ganj had transformed itself into more than a storehouse in my mind and those around me. Indeed the *Spirit of the Ganj* is a force to be reckoned with.

What is Ganjineering?
The processes and relationships through which we can interact organically with our ancestral homelands to learn and try to be of use.

You mean NGOgiri do you not?
Nope, though the waqf (the pious endowment), is an authentic means of engaging in collective action that we need to respect more if we expect our societies to advance. Ganjineers tend not to play on the poverty of others to assert any kind of ego trip and earn money using the Development Industry at the same time. They do not try to turn their communities into aliens from their religious heritage and culture, into savages to be civilised with fashionable empowerment speak, decontextualised development indices and glossy reports to donors.

Who are you to intervene? What makes you less imperialist than the NGO lords and sell outs that haunt you?
If you know your history, then you will know where you are coming from, then you wouldn't have to ask me, who the hell do I think I am. (Bob Marley)

Who does Ganjineering?
Ganjineers.

You pretentious fiend give us an example!
Ok, i feel that Akhtar Hameed Khan was the epitome of the Ganjineer. May we learn from people like him.

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