Instant Editorial: A silence not golden

Why doing nothing was the response of the administration in Brahamanbaria before and during the communal attacks is baffling.  What exactly were the district administration and the police doing while rumours spread like wildfire over an alleged Facebook post? But more importantly, why have none of the MPs from the district visited the victims, three days after the mayhem?  Who are they trying to appease? Has the government lost confidence that the majority of the people of this country, although religious, believe in a pluralistic society?

It is no one but the bigots who will be emboldened by the silence of the authorities.  When a couple of extremist groups stir up the  public sentiment to oppress a community and rob them of their dignity and law stands by to watch it happen, what message does it send to the country and the world? How far has the country deviated from the principles on which it was founded?

The state determines the conduits for what kind of citizens it is going to develop. In other words, the state machineries define the characteristics of its citizens. Any mix of politics and faith cannot work a democracy. Extremism in the defense of faith is no virtue. 

Whoever plays with fire should know that fire will ultimately play him.