Bangladesh, Dr Yunus, Journalism, Liberation War, Politics, Secularism

Shahriar Kabir’s Pen Refused to Bow

Sherlock Holmes

The Yunus regime stands condemned for unjustly imprisoning freedom fighter Shahriar Kabir, a steadfast symbol of secularism, on baseless charges. He is enduring torture behind bars and being denied critical medical care after experiencing a cardiac arrest. His plight underscores the blatant cruelty of this unconstitutional government, which serves the interests of war criminals and extremist leaders.

It has been more than seven months1 since Shahriar Kabir, an eminent writer, journalist, filmmaker and intellectual of Bangladesh, was arrested by the unconstitutional interim Government2 led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus on false allegations. Unlike him, during this despicable Yunus regime, many journalists, writers and political-cultural activists are either behind bars, indicted on false accusations or flying the coop3. In the last seven months of 75-year-old Shahriar Kabir's imprisonment, he, who cannot move without a wheelchair, has faced grim conditions as Yunus's phoney Government shows a complete lack of rule of law, resembling the law of the jungle. Futility in case filing, multiple impertinent remands, hare-brained judicial process, and naked violation of the Prisons Act of Bangladesh are pointed out. Significantly, the Yunus Government is going ape to hinder the basic treatment process of Shahriar Kabir, which is considered a fundamental responsibility of the state according to the de jure constitution of Bangladesh. Even after the second cardiac arrest of

Shahriar Kabir in jail4, the Yunus Government fiddled with the treatment. The corporate media has not reported, editorialised, post-editorialised, or discussed Shahriar Kabir's sufferings in newspapers or on talk shows, and there is no patina of so-called intellectuals' or human rights organisations' statements. Only social media activists, secular bloggers, and a single news portal, BD Digest, have broken Yunus's iron curtain against the media5 to crack the news and are up in arms about the megalomaniac Yunus administration. Shahriar Kabir, a freedom fighter in Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971, dedicated his life to promoting and preserving the spirit of Bangladesh's liberation movement. He has been dry behind his ears for five decades of Bengali children's literature6. Being a nonpareil storyteller, his hearkening back to the wartime memoir and the bedrock of 1971 and writing in pellucid prose for young minds becomes the panacea for all communal and compromised ills. In his novels and short stories written for children, the fastidious…

Current Affairs, Liberation War, Opinion, Politics, War

Reflecting on Bangladesh’s Independence: Honouring the Past and Addressing Present Challenges

Robi Das

This article has two parts. The first part describes the black night of March 25, the early morning of March 26 and the declaration of independence by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The second part discusses the importance of the great Independence Day in the present context, the need to recognize the genocide in Bangladesh, and how to spread the true history of Independence Day among future generations. 

People lit candles in front of Saheed Mina

People lit candles in front of Saheed Minar. https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/ddwxg5f9s8

Today is March 25, the National Genocide Day and tomorrow is the Great Independence Day of Bangladesh.  I begin by respectfully recalling all the martyrs indiscriminately killed by the Pakistani occupation forces and their local collaborators on the black night of March 25, 1971. I also pay my homage to the martyrs and Beerangonas who sacrificed everything for the independence of Bangladesh. I pay my respects to the great hero of the nation's liberation, the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, without whom we cannot imagine the great liberation war of Bangladesh.  Since August 5, last year, a lot has happened in Bangladesh. The country is now gripped by the controversial and violent activities of militant groups, including Hizb ut-Tahrir, Jamaat-e-Islami, AB Party, and other right-wing groups, including the newly formed National Citizens Party (NCP). The hyenas of 1971 have returned, and the ghosts of the Razakars, Al-Badr, and Al-Shams, collaborators of the Pakistani occupation forces, are trying

to forcibly establish extreme right-wing religious ideology, undermining the ideals of the great liberation war, democracy, socialism, and secularism. The destruction of Bangabandhu's historic house at Dhanmondi 32 exemplifies this. Bangabandhu's home has been attacked twice, and we lost Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family on August 15, 1975. Despite our best efforts, we cannot bring back the Father of the Nation, Bangamata, little Russell, Sheikh Kamal, and Sheikh Jamal. However, the house remained until the old neo-Razakar parties destroyed it, fearing that Bangabandhu's voice would declare independence again from house number 32, inspiring brave Bengalis to roar against the defeated power of 1971 and restore the ideals of the great liberation war.  The article has two parts. The first part describes the black night of March 25, the early morning of March 26 and the declaration of independence by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The second part discusses the importance of the great Independence Day…

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