Dilemma of a freethinker

Dilemma of a freethinker

(Some comments on Avijit�s response to Mr. Bishnu Dey)

-Jahed Ahmed

�The intellectual�s role is to speak truth as plainly, directly and honestly as possible. No intellectual is supposed to worry about whether what is said embarrasses, pleases, or displeases people in power�.

-?*

Reading my friend Avijit�s response to Mr. Bishnu Dey�s article, I was about to say: superb, but I resisted the temptation. Why?

I beg for your pardon, dear readers, to take a while before I answer the question. But I promise- it would be an honest answer.

1. Rousseau once said: �Man is born-free and everywhere he is in chains�. I am not sure at what stage of his life Rousseau made this comments, but over the last 4-5 years experience of writing at different forums, and interaction of people with different ethnic/religious/cultural backgrounds; one thing I have learned for myself: the chain Rousseau talked about is not necessarily always external (religious prejudices, etc); on the contrary, many of the obstacles are internal in origin. Often I asked myself: am I really a freethinker, or is it possible for a freethinker/intellectual to be free of all shackles and prejudices of both external and internal origin? The noun freethinker, I must admit, sounds flattering; however, is it really possible to be free totally?

2. Back in 2000-2001, when I joined fatemolla, SKM, Dr. Jaffor Ullah, Jamal Hasan, Dr. Shabbir Ahmed, late Narayan Gupta at NFB (New From Bangladesh), I came across Avijit. While we all were often alleged to be �Islam-basher�, when it came to refuting such allegations, for Avijit, being of Hindu origin complicated the problems by many folds. Despite his coherent, logical rebuttal; he had to often endure with the Mullah�s racist allegations such as �India�s paid agent�, �A Hindu with no background in Islam�, and of course a �Islam-basher�; even though Avijit wrote many articles acridly criticizing many of the ancient Hindu customs such as castes system, �satidah� (burning alive of wife on her husband�s pyre) , etc. I thought, the trend would die with time. I have been proved mistaken!

3. One even with an elementary knowledge of Freud, or basic psychology knows- how much childhood upbringing affects a person�s adulthood. With the advent of Internet, now we are flooded with e-forums and equally with online writers. This is not bad. Indeed, many are involved with social issues that are of great pertinence today. However, among those of us who take comfort in considering ourselves as �intellectual� at least internally, if not externally; how many are really courageous enough to utter truth irrespective of personal emotional bonds, nationality, culture, ethnicity and likes? My personal answer: indeed very very few!

Some examples:

a) For a ultra-nationalist Muslim Bangladeshi, as far as requirements are concerned, all it might take to present himself as a freethinker is some linguistic funda (expertise), while deep inside the person may remain an intense �India-hater� ,or �Hindu-hater�. It may as well happen- the servant same person keeps in his house back in Bangladesh is a Muslim but remains under-paid and under mental-physical abuses for years!

b) A reverse example could be said of an ultra-nationalist Indian. Here I mean �ultra-nationalist� in disguise, like we have seen in above example.

c) An elite Indian Hindu may show crocodile tears at an e-forum for abuses of Hindus in Bangladesh, which often is true, but how many such elite Indians really provided help to those wretched poor Hindus of Bangladesh origin, who left BD for India with an utopian dream of being embraced by their fellow brothers-sisters other than being branded them as �BANGAL�?

d) An elite Pakistani Muslim may abuse India for having suppressed Muslims at an e-forums; but how many such Pakistanis did provide help to those Muslims who migrated during 1946 with the hope � at last they have found their heaven other than calling them �mohajers� (refuses), a lowly term?

Will there ever come a day, when an Indian would join a Pakistani, and a Pakistani/Indian would join a Bangladeshi not as nationalists/religionists, but simply as humans for sake of truth and justice to prevail?

I had a hesitation to congratulate my dear friend Avijit for having written a magnificent piece. It was: lest, I am branded a �Hindu-basher� of Muslim origin! Will I ever be able to overcome such complex? Will such day come? But who else will bring such days but ourselves?

Salute to Avijit for your noble courage! It�s exemplary, to say the least!

(The end)

New York

06/16/04

* Edward Said. (Source: http://www.muslim-refusenik.com/)


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