Increasing Intolerance In Bangladesh

What a tragedy, the daughter of slain Bangladeshi professor Rezaul Karim Siddique had to clarify that her father was not an atheist but a believer in God. She was reacting to reports that he was killed because he was an atheist. Come to think of it, what a reason it is to kill a person! Although the “Islamic State” has claimed responsibility for the brutal murder of the professor of English who taught at Rajshahi University in the country’s north-west region, nobody has any clue as to why he was targeted. The government has dismissed the claim as bogus as the ‘Islamic State does not exist in Bangladesh’. However, the point is that the Islamists have been killing atheists, bloggers, writers and thinkers regularly. 

Since Siddique was not an atheist, another reason which was considered right enough to bump him off was that he was a “culture-vulture” kind of person. What it meant was that he took the lead in organising cultural programmes by students. The Islamists consider singing, dancing, acting and other cultural activities as against the tenets of Islam which could not be tolerated. In other words, death is the punishment for anybody who tries to tap the rich cultural heritage of Bangladesh where Rabindra Sangeet is a unique unifier. The Islamists are against any such expressions of the Bengalis’ cultural identity. Siddique is the fourth professor of this university to be put to death. Earlier this month, a law student who expressed secular views online was hacked with machetes and shot. Last year, four secular bloggers, out of a list of 84 “secular bloggers” drawn up by Islamists and widely circulated, were killed in similar fashion. 

The victims include Shia, Sunni Muslims, Christians, Hindus and foreigners. Alas, the government has not been able to catch the killers and deal with them in an appropriate manner. In the instant case, a student was arrested. The Islamists do not enjoy any groundswell of support. For instance, the latest killing evoked widespread protest in the country with the students of Rajshahi University coming out on the streets to protest against the killing. Nonetheless, the lack of public support has not been a deterrent for the Islamists who believe in killing their adversaries. They know that even selective killing of vulnerable persons will terrorise the common people. It is the government which has to rise to the occasion and suppress the killers.

Courtesy: Indian Express