Queen Victoria's idea?

You see, they are all related, and as usual, the source of all these ills rest with your former colonial masters, the British. First, RAB, or as it was originally known when first formed by the good old Queen, Victoria, the Royal Artillery Brigade.

It was instituted to keep control of the school kids when on their way to and from classes. You see, only the offspring of the imperial masters went to school in those days, and they were taunted by the local kids, who used to call them nasty names. Queen Victoria was very angry with this, and so RAB was formed to provide an escort. Every time they heard something foul , they were cross, and fired at them, giving rise to the expression "crossfire". I should explain here that the guns used by RAB were low quality imitations made in Wales, which was not then the superpower it is today. In fact the barrels were bent, and always hit some innocent bystander, rather than the intended target. Perhaps this sounds familiar.

On page 5 of the above mentioned issue, there is an article by Syed Shamim Faruk, "Rickshaws in Dhaka". In his second paragraph, he mentions that "Rickshaws were probably introduced"...

.in the early part of the previous century...." This is almost correct. Actually they were another innovation by our dear old queen. You see, RAB did such a good job in protecting the school kids that the children became spoilt and lazy, and just caused a lot of confusion in the streets, especially at opening and closing times. Add this to the fact that RAB soldiers weren't exactly the brightest soldiers on the block, and frequently lost their way en route to school, and the answer was obvious to Victoria.

She passed a decree that the school children should pull their RAB protectors to school on rickshaws. Also, and this was important, for purposes of identification, she made the children wear white, and RAB wore black. RAB soldiers weren't paid enough to be able to buy combs, so she ordered them to cover their untidy locks with dirty handkerchiefs. Masterstroke! The kids got exercise, RAB got a free ride. Nowadays of course, they have big 4-wheel drive rickshaws, but the principle is still the same.

I hope this clears any confusion.