shahbagh movement 2013

Mutawas' of Bangladesh

A hitherto unknown Islamist outfit, 'Ittahadul Mujahidin' from Sylhet has sent a letter to B D News office, Dhaka  threatening to kill 19 persons including ministers, teachers, cultural activists, ganajagaran mancha organizers and bloggers.

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Hefajat & Government - Tom & Jerry in New Version

Probably, we are the only nation in the world who has to fight every day to find out our country. No, it doesn't mean that we lost our country geographically every day, but there is a far distance between the Bangladesh in our mind and in front of our eyes. 'Bangladesh' is a name of glorious history, a deep rooted cultural phenomena and obviously a name of interaction between various ethnic groups. The common people of Bangladesh never believe in any kind of anarchy. Though they are religious, but as far as I can find their visions throughout their statements in various references and oral interviews, they never relay on any fundamental forces. So, it's a big question now, how these fundamentalist groups make their uprising in our state. The straight answer is 'with the fresh aid of existing political forces'. If we look at the history of growing fundamentalism in Bangladesh after the liberation period, we find the state machine as a key force to make this happen. After the brutal assassination of the father of the nation, state directly played the role to build up the fundamentalist forces. This role of state is still in the van. As a reason, unfortunately, Bangladesh in the dream of secular forces is just like a stage play; there is no reflection in the present ruling or administration.

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Quader Mollah - fact versus fiction

Quader Mollah, the most infamous classmate of mine in my student days in Rajendra College (1964-66,) has become a part of history and probably, nationally and internationally, the most known individual of our class of 1966 superseding even the former cabinet minister of Khaleda Zia's government, Ali Ahsan Mohammed Mujaheed who, incidentally, also is facing the gallows if the Supreme Court (SC) does not overturn the verdict. In addition to studying in the class, Quader  was my home mate in a student home where dozens of us used to live, eat and pray (it was made mandatory by the Superintendent) together for two years until I left for the Engineering University after passing the H.S.C. Exam. in 1966 . I wrote a piece on him for DS (February 9, 2013) after the shocking verdict when he was spared on February 5 from the much-expected capital punishment by the honourable judges of the International Crimes Tribunal.

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A FEW QUESTIONS TO JAMAAT-SHIBIR

Jamaat-Shibir has been fighting to impose Sharia in Bangladesh as a first step to recreate old 'golden period' of Ummah in near future under a Caliph. This calls for a relook into a few aspects of Islamic history to find out if the endeavor of Jamaat-Shibir is justified or not.

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In Which Direction Will the State Go? The state is at loggerhead with Fundamentalism

Moderator's Note: Subrata Adhikari Shuvo, an eminent mukto-mona blogger, was arrested on April 1st  on charges of Blasphemy. He is one among the free-spirited online writers who are being punished for virally spreading their reason-based opinions. Not once did Shuvo violate any stated Bangladeshi law, yet his actions have been declared as a crime in the eye of the government.  What's more twisted is that Bangladesh does not even have an official "blasphemy" law, like Pakistan does. Human rights organizations all over the world are berating Bangladesh for restricting the bloggers' right to freedom of speech (Please refer to the article published in Skeptic under the title, 'The Struggle of Bangladeshi Bloggers') .

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No Flag Large Enough to Cover the Shame

Avijit Roy

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Release the bloggers - A Demonstration in front of the Press Club is called on May 2nd.

[An eight-story building collapsed Wednesday in Savar, an outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital, killing at least 123 people and injuring more than 1,000. Due to the National Day of Mourning in Bangladesh on April 25, protests have been postponed to May 2.]

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Blasphemy and the right to offend

The right to express one's opinion freely is maybe the most important democratic right, and it is currently under assault in Bangladesh. Hifazat-e-Islam demands the introduction of strict blasphemy laws, and the government, instead of defending freedom, resorts to an ill-advised and imprudent appeasement strategy that hinders the press in its duty to inform the public, threatens the futures of young bloggers who were, and continue to be, arrested, and puts in peril the future of the democracy of the country.

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Worldwide Protests Planned in Support of Bangladeshi Freethinking Bloggers on May 2

[An eight-story building collapsed Wednesday in Savar, an outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital, killing at least 123 people and injuring more than 1,000. Due to the National Day of Mourning in Bangladesh on April 25, protests have been postponed to May 2.]

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Atheists among Us

By: Mohsin Siddique

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