Why does no one seem to care that poisonous fumes of fanaticism are spreading all around us? Why are people becoming instantly reactionary at the slightest of things? So much frenzy, so much noise—my God! No one can tolerate another’s words anymore. Tolerance, generosity, composure, love, affection, compassion, forgiveness—nothing seems to remain.
At this moment, the nation is going through a cultural drought. Where is Bobita, where is Zafar Iqbal? Where are Miles, Shironamhin, Warfaze and LRB? No one sits in peace to listen to Rabindra Sangeet anymore…
“Will you ever forget those golden days?
Those cherished moments, those soulful words,
How could they ever be erased…”
Here, there is no Kazi Nazrul Islam, no Jibanananda Das, no Bibhutibhushan, no Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, no Manik, no Jasimuddin. The poetic language of Al Mahmud is neither understood nor felt. There are no little magazines, no theatre movement, and the state of cinema is utterly deplorable. Zainul Abedin or S M Sultan would hardly dare to return to this soil! There is not a single person left to write or read serious, thoughtful fiction. Social bonds between people have completely disintegrated.
And in such a time of burning emptiness, prominent religious clerics are demanding that music, dance, and art be banned from primary education. Their call is to appoint only religious teachers! They want religion alone to be the sole component of knowledge, science, and livelihood.
Very well then—we too demand that at Dhaka, Jahangirnagar, Rajshahi, and Chittagong universities, at the engineering and medical colleges, at the law colleges, at the Fine Arts Institute, even in the Secretariat and the Ministries—everyone be forcibly retired and replaced only with religious instructors. Let all curricula be abolished and replaced solely with majority-oriented religious studies.
Nothing else—today’s 92% rightist Bengalis deserve exactly this! In the words of the Red Maulana Bhashani: As-salamu Alaikum.🫡
Author: Journalist
September 18, 2025