And The World Will Be As One!

Another blogger murdered in broad day light! Ananta Bijoy Das wrote against religious fundamentalism. He stood for rational thinking and dared to question established dogmas. Beside being a banker he was also the editor of a quarterly magazine called Jukti, meaning logic (and how illogical was his killing!).  His secular views clashed with the religious fanaticism that is growing across the globe today.

I visited the website he wrote for; it’s called ‘Mokto Mona’. In Bengali it means ‘A Free Mind’.  What an irony that it couldn’t give the basic freedom of expression to its own founder Avijit Roy.

 Avijit Roy was also hacked to death for his ‘writer’s corner’ web page encouraging freethinkers,rationalists & humanists. Most of the articles in this site are about secularism and human rights.

 With the world shrinking and cultural boundaries crumbling, people are increasingly becoming intolerant of views that don’t conform to theirs. Why is fanaticism and regressive thinking growing?

For an answer to this I had to dig deep into socio-economic changes occurring all over the world.

 Breaking up of the traditional fabric of society, compounded with growing capitalism and influence of western culture is causing insecurities and apprehensions in Asian and African countries.

The 60’s and 70’s was an era of freethinking and neo liberalism. It was the age of individual growth.  

The 80's and the 90's saw revolution in Iran; break down of communist regimes, the rise of Taliban and anti-American sentiments. Today we read about young Europeans also converting into Jihadists and joining up with extreme fundamentalist groups like the Al- Qaeda and ISIS.

 And the group in Nigeria called Boku Haram even shoot people for wearing western clothes and sending their daughters to school. In such a scenario it’s not surprising that people are killing those whose views differ. Mock and make fun and you better remember the Charlie Hebdo incident! Even in India there is a growing intolerance for anything or anybody who is different, but more on this note in another post

Slowly and steadily the ugly head of irrationality and absurdity is rising and will continue to rise till a point of no return comes, but I know that the human civilization with its will to live and co-exist will eventually trample over these destructive forces and rationality will triumph.

 Brave men like Ananta Bijoy Das and Avijit Roy had lived their lives on their own terms. They taught us to care for the whole human race and not be swayed by petty sectarian bigots.

 Nehrunissa Khan (name changed) has been a Sanskrit teacher for 25 years. When plodded by my inquisitive queries she said she just loved the subject and went ahead with doing a post grad in it. She chooses to follow her passion. Her family and community stands by her. What a beautiful way to live.

 You may say I'm a dreamer, 

but I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwUGSYDKUxU 

(To Listen to the song go on the link )