JOIN USFreedom of expression is under grave threat in Bangladesh again. Two bloggers have been killed in separate incidents on the streets of Dhaka over a span of five weeks for expressing views opposing religious fundamentalism. Silencing them was not the only aim of the assailants, who used machetes to murder their victims in the most gruesome manner. Clearly, their aim was to terrorise the larger population to shun adopting and airing progressive views. Bangladesh’s fundamentalists have used threats and violence to intimidate secular-democratic writers and activists in the past too. Death threats forced feminist writer Taslima Nasreen to flee abroad in the 1990s. In February 2013, an activist, who had participated in demonstrations demanding capital punishment for those convicted of war crimes during Bangladesh’s liberation war, was hacked to death in Dhaka. The growing frequency and brutality of attacks on secular minded people signals a sharp shrinking in Bangladesh’s democratic space.
Although Bangladesh’s emergence as an independent state in 1971 marked the victory of secular democratic forces, religious fundamentalism was not fully defeated. In the decades since, fundamentalism gathered strength and momentum; extremist outfits have proliferated in the country. The battle between the forces of secularism and fundamentalism for control of Bangladeshi state and society, indeed for control over Bangladesh’s soul and Bangladeshi hearts, minds and way of life has accelerated in recent years. It is in the context of this secular-religious divide that the killing of secular writers must be seen.
The killings are an outcome too of Bangladesh’s violent political culture. Rivalry between the ruling Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has paralysed the functioning of parliament and undermined dialogue as a means of resolving differences. Instead of working towards compromise, parties and politicians unleash violence routinely; hundreds have been killed in opposition-led protests this year. The Sheikh Hasina government is preoccupied with crushing her political opponents rather than tackling rampant lawlessness and religious fundamentalism in the country which has penetrated state institutions and bigots are laying down the rules whether in politics or social life even as the government twiddles its thumbs. This is unfortunate as Bangladesh has been a diverse society. When religious fundamentalists call the shots, they strip culture and society of its vibrancy. This is the danger that looms over Bangladesh today. The Awami League government must act now not only to nab those behind the killings but also to protect freedom of speech and expression, and importantly to strengthen the politics of tolerance, compromise and dialogue in the country.