u/Tanksfly1939

The following text outlines my own observations regarding the state of Sylhet's economy (particularly Sylhet city). It explores the factors that makes Sylhet's economy truly unique from other regions in BD, as well as their implications for Sylhet's long-term economic tragectory.

I personally tended to feel pretty pessimistic regarding Sylhet's economic future.

1. The handful of sectors Sylhet's economy excessively depends on (e.g., remittances, tourism, tea) are not only at the mercy of external factors beyond its control, but remittances in particular (which have long insulated Sylhetis from the socioeconomic realities of BD) are also about to be hit hard by economic downturns + stricter immigration laws in the West.

2. Although those remittances have done wonders for Sylhet's economy in the past, they've also led people to neglect other vital sectors such as education, investment and infrastructure, resulting in a Nauru-esque "resource curse" of sorts:

> "why study for a degree or build a new road in my village, when I can just hop onto a plane to Heathrow and make a quick buck that way?"

The result is widespread poverty and low social mobility (especially for those living in tea plantations or haor areas) among those without the backing of rich relatives.

3. The prosperity stereotypically associated with Sylhet is also only really true for a minority of very rich and influential families rather than the majority. This steep social inequality, coupled with the aforementioned economic insulation, has created a tribalist and reactionary climate that is hostile towards any whiff of dissent or social change.

Given these factors, I'm highly doubtful whether Sylhet can develop economically while still retaining its unique cultural identity. It isn't just the poverty or standards of living for the majority, but also the friction between the strong reactionary elements of Sylheti society and the rapid social changes it will inevitably have to confront, which will cause a lot of social upheaval and internal resentment later down the line.

Although the presence of many Sylheti people in the new BNP government may offer a glimmer of hope, even they cannot do much if the underlying structural issues I mentioned aren't addressed. It is high time the more educated or better off of Sylhet's residents discussed all of these issues more openly and loudly.

Even with all of those social constraints, awareness and acknowledgement can go a long way into laying the groundwork for positive change in the long-run.

The Fast and Thinking models work just fine (tho the response times seem a bit long), but the Pro model almost instantly crashes with a "Something went wrong" message literally every time I give it a prompt.

Am I the only one having this issue? Or is Gemini Pro itself not working right now?

I don't have a Pro subscription btw

Türkiye under Atatürk is well known for its very radical and controversial French-style secularism. It viewed the Ottomans as religiously backwards, and instead sought to push religion away public life and disassociate Turkish identity from Islam. Needless to say, they weren't very fond of Islam or religion in general.

So why the hell does their flag still has that crescent on it? It's not only the most universally recognisable symbol of Islam, but the specific type of crescent is also basically the exact one used by those "backwards" Ottomans. It's basically equivalent to the Jacobins putting a cross on the French flag.

**(In case that latter statement sounds hyperbolic, keep in mind that Atatürk's policies were and are extremely radical and controversial by wider Muslim standards of the time, even if they're pretty benign from a modern European perspective)**

So why is this the case? If the Turks really wanted to de-emphasize their Muslim identity in favor of a purely ethnic Turkish one, wouldn't they not want a crescent (an explicit symbol of Islam) on their national flag?

Straight to the point: I am Sylheti by birth (as in I was fully born and raised there) but have non-Sylheti parents. I'm kind of in an uncanny valley where I'm noy fully Sylheti, but not fully "Abadi" either.

And this puts me in a hilarious contempt crossfire between both racist Sylhetis *and* racist non-Sylhetis. The former hate me for being an "Abadi", while the latter hate me for being "Sylodi" or having a "Sylodi" (read: "geraimma" or "oshuddho") accent.

For one, although I *personally* never really faced much hate or contempt from other Sylhetis for my origins, many of my other relatives *have* often complained about the whole "Abadi" garbage they face from other "purer" Sylhetis.

But then I move outside of Sylhet (Dhaka, specifically), and non-Sylhetis (not all or most, but still many) treat me either as an "oshikkhito gorib" for my non-standard accent, or as an exotic circus animal whose entire identity hinges on being a Sylheti with a "funny accent". Although I'm sure a lot of them didn't actually mean it, I've often felt singled out as an unwelcome foreigner or minority regardless.

This is probably why many other Sylhetis often avoid revealing their Sylheti identity to non-Sylhetis, especially if they live outside Sylhet, 'cause they understandably don't want to face that kind of shit.

If there is a moral to this story (I don't like writing posts without conclusions), it is that hate and prejudice has no identity or origin. It doesn't matter if you're Sylheti or not; if you're act like an asshole, you *are* an asshole and deserved to be treated as such.