Martyred intellectuals

Of the most calumnous and barbaric acts perpetrated in post-World War II era, the killings of our intellectuals in 1971 by the marauding and rapacious occupation army of Pakistan stand out as the most horrendous and atrocious. Our intellectuals were among the first to be targeted on the night of March 25, 1971, and the final act of brutality of the retreating army was directed against the intellectuals too, on December 14.

Some of the luminaries of our intellectual world, from all walks of life, were targeted during the entire nine months of the Liberation War. Needless to say, it was an attempt to deprive the nation about to attain statehood after nine long months of a bloody war, of intellectual leadership and leave the fledgling nation virtually 'brainless.'  

The nation has come a long way since, and the absence of our martyred intellectuals has been badly felt. But we have been inspired and will continue to be inspired by their work and their sacrifices in the future. Yet as we recall the sacrifice of the martyred intellectuals whose killers have been held to account and brought to justice as per the law, we cannot but be overcome by a foreboding that the spectre of the Pakistan army may be reappearing in the form of the extremists. These extremists, albeit in insignificant numbers, are gnawing at the heart of the nation, compelling us by force to abjure our secular, inclusive and freethinking way of life.
As we mourn the martyred intellectuals, we must resolve to stand collectively to thwart all the evil forces that want to destroy the spirit that helped us endure the nine months of pain and hardship and achieve our independence.