Ananta Bijoy Das was a talented science writer and a blogger. He was hacked to death today by Islamic terrorists in Bangladesh.
Ananta Bijoy Das wrote a wonderful poem about me. In his poem, he saluted me for being an uncompromising feminist and humanist. Debashish Bhattacharya translated the poem into English.
A Few Lines For Taslima Nasreen
By Ananta Bijoy Das
The wolves and hyenas of the darkness are prowling over the world
Naked swords in hand, their unconcealed carnal desire dripping off from their eyes and mouths.
Intellectual conceit, under the veneer of fake social awareness, is chewing out
Every issue from big bang to human evolution, global vision .
Alexandria to Nalanda being rampaged and raped by them,
The “elders” are breathing in hatred and violence in their pens,
Blood of the innocent dripping off the shameless swords everywhere.
If you violate their fatwa, their red eyes and edicts
You get beheaded in the east west north south wherever you are.
They have bought over all – the arms, muscles, judiciary and the media.
Nevertheless someone or other is lighting the fire somewhere,
The fire of protest, the revolutionary fire which burns off the stinking, old, decomposed beliefs and rituals, “sacred” establishments.
The lighted path travels from Hypatia to Mary, Rokea –
All hail Taslima, red salute to you.
Ananta Bijoy Das was an editor of a science magazine called Jukti (logic). He used to write blogs on Mukto Mona blogging site. He wrote some books on Darwin and evolution in Bengali. He received Rationalist Mukto Mona award for his writings.
Bangladesh government is not taking any action against the Islamist-killers because of the fear of being labelled as anti-Islam. Islamists are allowed to do whatever they like in Bangladesh. It seems killing free-thinker atheists who criticize Islam is their main agenda.
Rajib Haider
A.K.M Shafiur Rahman
Avijit Roy
Washikur Rahman Babu
Ananta Bijoy Das.
Who is next?
Tomorrow maybe you. Or maybe me.
This is so heartbreaking. Between this and the 10-year old girl in Paraguay being forced to carry a rape pregnancy, Grace Mann being murdered essentially for being a feminist, and this, I have a very heavy heart today indeed.
Thank you Taslima for being one of the increasingly witch-hunted yet unwavering voices pointing at and calling out patriarchy (and the sadistic religion (s) that are its bedrock) for what it is. You are unflinching and unconcerned with offending patriarchal sensibilities, and that seems harder and harder to find these days. You say it like it is. I always turn to you and Yemisi of Yemmynisting (amongst a small handful of others) when I need a dose of genuine feminism grounded in reality, in the female experience.
Thank you also for sharing Ananta’s poem.
Thank you Taslima. Ananta has contributed his life for a cause. He wrote a very touching poem saluting your courage. Anyone who respects man as man will raise his voice against such brutality and blind hatred. Keep your flag flying my friend, the journey is bloody and challenging indeed.
Not you not you not you not you not you not you not you.
I honor the memory of Ananta Bijoy Dash. The feelings he expressed in this poetry are universal. Freedom of expression is a precious and delicate thing that must be preserved on our civilized world here. Thank you for your bravery.
Don’t turn your right to dissent over to terrorists, extremists, traitors, communists, and democrats.
Ask your representatives:
What are their views on Sharia Law?
What do they think about the following statements:
The West Will Tolerate Itself To Death.
Why Do We Tolerate Violence Against Women?
What are their plans to halt violence against women around world including:
1) Female genital mutilation
2) Punishing rape victims
3) Honor killing
4) Strapping bombs to children
5) Sexually enslaving women
6) Murdering homosexuals
7) Child marriage
8) Domestic Violence
9) Disciplining or Punishing Wives
We must be careful when we presume to speak on behalf of the departed. I can only speak for myself. I can tell you what Mr. Das’ poem on this page means to me.
On January 7, 2015 I felt that my core values had been personally attacked. I highly value my right to express myself. In recent centuries, freedom of expression has been prized highly in France, Europe and America. During January I became alarmed as I saw that freedom being constricted in my own country, and I tried using the internet to bring this to the attention of my countrymen. My conversation about global norms of speech got hijacked, repeatedly, by trolls and jingoists who were still fighting old wars in their head. They appeared on the surface to know an awful lot about Sharia Law, but in fact, they had neither cracked a book on it, nor had they ever met a Muslim. On a personal level, I feel that they stole my righteous conversation about freedom and then used it to troll people to Texas, where they killed them. I feel betrayed by people in my own country for having done this disingenuous thing.
This is too sad.
Sad and painful.
The senseless stupidity of it is beyond mindboggling.
Their stupid god can create the world, end the world, strike anyone with cancer and then cure it (or not), plus a million other things both too banal and extraordinary to name.
Yet it needs a band of cowards with machetes to murder one unarmed man?
I will never understand that.
leni wrote:
“Their stupid god can create the world, end the world, strike anyone with cancer and then cure it (or not), plus a million other things both too banal and extraordinary to name.
Yet it needs a band of cowards with machetes to murder one unarmed man?”
We must not forget this simple observation, as there will always be simple-minded people in the world. We must not and will not forget Mr. Das. Even though Mr. Das is now gone, his life and his writing are more powerful than their little insecure thoughts.
Religion and hypocrisy are two main pillars of any religious patriachal society. These religious bigots think they are divine and pure by killing those who raise their voice against their hypocrisy. Proud to be an atheist