Factoid galore by the PM won't help apprehend Humayun Azad's assailants

By Shabbir Ahmed

It should not come as a surprise that expatriate Bangalees throughout the world are deeply saddened by the news of the attack Dr. Humayun Azad had sustained from some coward goons.  In addition to the Bangalees, a number of humanist individuals of the world are deeply shocked and concerned about the condition of this renowned scholar.  While the people of Bangladesh are very much aware of the perpetrators of the crimes, the Prime Minster Begum Khaleda Zia made a statement that needs some probing to unmask her paranoiac mindset.  She blamed the major opposition party for the crime without even reading a single line from the detective branch of the police.  As the head of the government, she should’ve absolute access to the information on the crimes committed against a notable thinker/philosopher like Professor Humayun Azad.  So far, the law enforcement department has the slightest clue; thus, they haven’t revealed any information whatsoever as to who did the attack against this eminent person even though the conscious people have very clear guess about the criminals and their godfather.  Nevertheless, concerned people of Bangladesh and intellectuals who follow the events in Bangladesh from outside world will pay heed to what the Prime Minister had said thus far.  In this case, she shouldn’t make statements that are nothing but factoids at best.

In any murder or attempted murder case, the investigators first investigate the motive of the criminals.  If they don’t find first hand clue, then they take into account about the beneficiaries of the crime.  The beneficiaries could be of political/economical/ideological nature depending the type of crimes.  The losers/sufferers because of the crimes don’t automatically become the suspects.  The beneficiaries could however be the prime suspects.  In the case of the attempted murder of Dr. Humayun Azad, the losers are the pro-liberation forces/freethinkers/secularists of Bangladesh.  The beneficiaries are the anti-liberation forces/fundamentalists/political Islamists of Bangladesh.  The major opposition party Awami League led the war of liberation against the killer Pakistani regime and their fundamentalists/political Islamist partners in 1971.  The writings of Dr. Humayun Azad enhance the strengths of the pro-liberation forces, who fought a war against the brutal pro-Pakistani forces under the elected government in exile formed by Awami League.  Hence, the political party in question loses for the demise of writers/philosophers like Dr. Humayun Azad.  Why on earth should their supporters attack him?  It beats any logic, you see!

Prof. Azad’s writings certainly harm the anti-liberation forces politically and ideologically.  They’re now sharing power with the party governed by the Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.  They’ve the power and means to talk against an educationist for writing a book even in parliament.  Some of the fundamentalist/pro-Pakistani partners of the government expressed their outrage against Dr. Humayun Azad for writing a book titled “Pak Sar Zamin Sad Bad.”  Many of these notorious political Islamists issued Fatwas to kill the intellectuals who differ with them on religious/political views in the past.  Based on the rhetoric and past violent attitude of the fundamentalists/political Islamists, it is rather easy to conclude that they’ll be the beneficiaries if an eminent writer like Dr. Azad can’t write anymore.  If he is killed, then their true color won’t be exposed any more.  They can continue to be in power by keeping the present-day Bangalees in dark and confusion about them.  They’ve achieved this mastery after their defeat in 1971. It is a survival tactics on their part.

Does the Prime Minister fail to analyze simple facts or is she going to rely on factoids to make up stories about who are behind the attack of Prof. Azad?  It is possible though that she doesn’t want to embarrass her coalition partners especially Jamaat-i-Islami.  However, she can hardly avoid the background information and the political motives of her coalition government.  So far, it is observed that the deceptive policies are used randomly by the present government in suppressing information about the activities of the miscreants.  This does not help improve the law and order situation in the country, which is out of kilter now.  Instead, the perpetrators get encouraged.  Come to think of it, a guess by the Prime Minister should be solidly based on some logic and facts.  Unfortunately, truth is seldom seen to come out of the present administration because it is buried with prevarications.  After all, the Prime Minister and her government aren’t truthful about the history of our liberation war.  They are good at manufacturing fibs about who gave the clarion call for our freedom movement.  Lately, textbooks have been re-written in Bangladesh to favor the PMs pet view.  This doctoring of books will have their adverse effect; the nation will produce some confused citizens in years to come.  

In summary, making fib, prevarication, etc., has become a pastime of our present day Prime Minister of Bangladesh.  Evading truth to settle some old score with her opponent, ex-PM Sheikh Hasina, keeps her ever busy.  The PM won’t admit in public that kowtowing the Islamists to win the election has its pitfall.  Very soon, Bangladesh’s citizens are going to be disenchanted with her fib-making exercises.  When push comes to shove, the people of Bangladesh will dump her and the Islamists in favor of a secular party.  I hear the rumblings in the distant horizon. 

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Dr. Shabbir Ahmed, a researcher, writes from Naples, Florida.  His e-mail address: sahmed@...