Bangladesh has become a den of intolerant troublemakers  

By Shabbir Ahmed 

Honestly speaking, my motherland, Bangladesh, has become a very unsafe place for moderate people, freethinkers, and intellectuals under the aegis of the present government.  A few days ago, it was reported that the goons of the ruling parties attacked a notable politician, Dr. Kamal Hussain.  Today (February 27, 2004), the attack on Dr. Humayun Azad has become a news item.  According to news report from diversified sources, he has been critically injured.  As it appears, he is now fighting for his life.  He has been transferred from Dhaka Medical College Hospital to the Combined Military Hospital.  I�m sure that the physicians will try their best to save the life of this eminent scholar and intellectual.  Bangladesh cannot afford to lose him.  We don�t have many intellectuals the like Dr. Humayun Azad.

 

During the rule of the former government under Awami League, the fundamentalist miscreants attacked Poet Shamsur Rahman.  The memory of that attack is still fresh in my mind.  He critically survived from the attacks.  The investigation was carried out at that time and the government showed serious concerns for the attack on the eminent poet of Bangladesh.  The newspaper reports indicated that a number of the fundamentalist goons were arrested.  However, the present government has suppressed most of these types of serious cases after assuming power.  It was noticed that the then main opposition party BNP including their partner Jamaat-i-Islami tried hard to downplay the heinous attack on Poet Shamsur Rahman.  They were even ridiculing the grave attack as a staged drama.  Unfortunately, they�re in power at the present time.  That is why they�re downplaying all the attacks against the moderates, minorities, and eminent people of the country.  This is resulting in a serious sense of insecurity to the liberal and rational thinkers of Bangladesh. 

 

These days, the government is not only downplaying but also distorting the facts.  The Home Minister distorted the attack against Dr. Kamal Hussain by saying that the attacker was none but Dr. Kamal Hussain himself.  It�s a matter of grave concern when the Home Minister of a country tries to cover up the attacks of the goons by accusing an eminent personality like Dr. Kamal Hussain.  The goons are getting encouragement from the present government to attack the moderate and liberal people of the country.  As a result, we are observing relentless attacks one after another.

 

The intellectuals such as Dr. Humayun Azad and late Dr. Ahmed Sharif were always under the Fatwa of the fundamentalist Maulanas (clerics) of Bangladesh.  Many times, these disgruntle Maulanas associated with Jamaat-i-Islami issued Fatwa against the liberal/rational thinkers of Bangladesh.  They always encourage their fundamentalist followers in meetings/gatherings to kill these intellectuals.  So, it isn�t surprising that one group of these people conspired to kill a renowned intellectual like Dr. Humayun Azad.  It�s highly likely because these groups openly declare Dr. Humayun Azad et al. as Murtads (apostates) and they try to incite their followers to kill them.  Unfortunately, these groups of people are sharing power now.  They�re downplaying these crimes continuously.  It was possible that these types of crimes could have taken place during the time of the former government.  However, there were serious concerns and serious efforts by the government to bring the culprits into justice despite the cover-up of the then opposition party BNP and their Jamaat-i-Islami coalition. 

 

 

Dr. Humayun Azad recently wrote a book titled �Pak Sar Jamin Sad Bad (the first line of the Pakistani national anthem).�  In this book, he criticized the role of the Pakistanis and the pro-Pakistani collaborators during erstwhile East Pakistan.  All the fundamentalist parties collaborated with the killer Pakistani regime at one time or other.  Dr. Humayun Azad by exposing their misdeeds has made them very angry.  By a stroke of luck the collaborators are ruling Bangladesh now. The goons of these fundamentalists and the collaborators of Pakistan are attacking the pro-liberation and liberal-minded intellectuals.  All the pro-liberation political parties should unite against the ruling pro-Pakistani fundamentalists and the collaborators of Pakistan.  The liberal people of the country should also condemn the heinous acts of the fundamentalist goons even though the government isn�t serious to root them out.  How can they root out the fundamentalist goons? After all, they are patronizing the fundamentalists by sharing power with them. Therefore, the conscious people should raise their strong voices and condemn the brutal attacks on an eminent intellectual like Dr. Humayun Azad.

--------------------------   

Dr. Shabbir Ahmed writes from Naples, Florida. 

Published at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/15389 

[Mukto-mona] [Articles] [Recent Debate] [Special Event ] [Moderators] [Forum]