Nation vows to safeguard secularism
Bangladesh yesterday paid a solemn tribute to martyred intellectuals of 1971 at a time when religious fundamentalist forces were gaining their strength.
On this day, the best sons of the soil made supreme sacrifice just two days before the country got liberated.
Paying rich tributes to the martyred intellectuals, people who flocked at Martyred Intellectuals Memorial in the city's Rayerbazar said secularism is now at stake due to the way extremist forces are rising in recent times.
"Martyred intellectuals' dream for establishing a secular society is a far cry. Instead, extremist and fundamentalist forces keep dominating in many cases in the society," Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury told The Daily Star over the telephone.
He said the fundamentalist forces were able to reach their present position due to the patronising and compromising attitude of successive governments.
The noted political analyst said the present Awami League government's compromising attitude towards Hefajat-e Islam, which opposes the construction of sculpture of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, is also responsible for the rise of fundamentalist forces.
Abul Quasem Fazlul Haq, another political analyst and a former Dhaka University professor, said, "We should not put all the blame on our enemy. We should also do our self-criticism and go for our soul-searching for not fulfilling the dream of the country's martyred intellectuals and letting the rise of fundamentalist elements over the years."
"Our political parties and its leaders lack this sincerity of doing self-criticism. They speak on this issue with the interest of their parties and individuals," he added.
He said in absence of democracy, people are rushing towards religion and a section of religious leaders are taking this opportunity to gain their political interest through misleading people.
Fazlul Haq said, "Our political leaders don't have nationalistic thinking. That's why they rush to different embassies with different issues."
To mark the Martyred Intellectuals Day, elaborate programmes were held nationwide to commemorate the December 14 tragedy.
The nation observed the day to commemorate those intellectuals killed systematically by the Pakistan occupation forces and their local collaborators at the fag-end of the country's Liberation War in 1971.
Just two days ahead of the country's victory on this day 49 years ago, the Pakistan occupation forces with the help of their local collaborators -- Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams -- killed the most prominent intellectuals of the country.
As many as 200 illustrious sons of the soil, including professors, journalists, doctors, artistes, engineers and writers, were abducted from their home blindfolded between December 10 and 14 in 1971.
They were taken to torture cells in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Nakhalpara, Rajarbagh and other locations in the city.
Subsequently, they were put to death en masse at different killing grounds, most notably Rayerbazar and Mirpur, in a bid to cripple the newly emerging Bangladesh intellectually.
Among the martyred intellectuals of December 14 were Prof Munier Chowdhury, Dr Alim Chowdhury, Prof Muniruzzaman, Dr Fazle Rabbi, Sirajuddin Hossain, Shahidullah Kaiser, Prof GC Dev, JC Guhathakurta, Prof Santosh Bhattacharya, Mofazzal Haider Chowdhury, journalists Khandaker Abu Taleb, Nizamuddin Ahmed, SA Mannan (Ladu Bhai), ANM Golam Mustafa, Syed Nazmul Haq and Selina Parvin.
Since then, the day is being observed as the Martyred Intellectuals Day.
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid rich tributes to the martyred intellectuals in the morning.
The day was observed on a limited scale due to fresh surge of the Covid-19 cases.
Paying tribute to the martyred intellectuals, Obaidul Quader, AL general secretary and also road transport and bridges minister, called upon the pro-liberation forces to build a united resistance to root out the communal forces from society.
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