'Group championing' eclipses free play of mind in intellectual arena

President Shahabuddin Ahmed urged the country's scholars yesterday to retain their ideal insularity and "free-play of mind" against "group championing" for the sake of knowledge and civilisation, reports BSS.

Speaking at the biennial general meeting of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, he said despite defiance of "material conditions" by some dedicated scholars, the domination of the group championing of ideas were causing a "colossal loss in the world of knowledge."

"What is despairing is the loss of the individual in the ever burgeoning and all devouring growth of group championing some real or imagined ideas venerated as rituals," the president said.

He added: "The group has become so powerful that the individual has failed to retain his ideal insularity and his essential free-play of the mind."

President of the Society Prof Harunur Rashid chaired the function which was attended by leading academics, researchers, scientists and its members and fellows including chief of the former caretaker government justice Habibur Rahman.

President Shahabuddin said knowledge in any society has an "essential insular character" and therefore, scholars were small group of "self-exiled" people in their own domain of free-play of their mind.

"Societies that care for knowledge have always supported such dedicated individuals and that has made possible the advancement of human civilisation. In return societies have benefited from the technology which came out of the painstaking research of the seekers of knowledge," he said.

Sir William Jones, a British, founded the Society in 1784 in Calcutta as a learned body for research on man and nature of the continent.

In his speech, Prof Rashid said over the years the Society attached great importance on intellectual freedom and suggested development of independent research institutes free from government control for better performance and efficiency.

Echoing the President's concern, Prof Rashid said numerous research work done on both sides of the political divide were examples how scholars permit their intellect to be "conditioned" by certain pre-conceived ideas and goals.

Currently, the Asiatic Society is working on an ambitious project to publish the much talked "Banglapedia," an encyclopaedia in Bengali.