A culture of fear persists in Bangladesh as the incumbent government is continuing to ensure their dominance in society, an academician and an editor said at a public dialogue on Saturday.
They urged for the collective voice to be raised to overcome the fear.
Azfar Hussain, vice president of US-based Global Center for Advanced Studies and professor of English and world literature, and New Age editor Nurul Kabir, made the observations at the public dialogue themed ‘In a Culture of Fear’.
Media Studies and Journalism Department of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh organised the programme at Shilpakala Academy auditorium as a part of its curriculum integration programme.
They discussed the issue of fear from an academic, practical, global and national perspective and said people should come together to fight against fear.
Azfar said the culture of fear in Bangladesh could not be disassociated from the political culture of the country that has evolved over the years. As examples, he cited the frequent murder and rape of women and children, inordinate plundering of our reserve and banks, enforced disappearance, destruction of natural resources including Sunderbans and snatching away of voting rights. He identified four criteria which induce fear among people in Bangladesh, which include a perceived threat to life, land, livelihood and language.
In the Bangladeshi context, Nurul Kabir said if any government resorts to running the country against the main spirit of the war of the Liberation War— equality, human dignity and social justice— they create a culture of fear in the country. All the main three issues for which people engaged in a war of liberation are now missing in the
country.
‘In a democratic system, the government should fear the people as people are the supreme power in the state. When people start fearing government, it indicates that the government has started becoming undemocratic,’ Kabir added.
Source: New Age
