A free soul
Humayun Azad was a free soul (my atheist friends may abhor this very term!). His soul was soaring and fractious. Even in the midst of a miasmic milieu he flourished as a thoughtful and fiercely patriotic man (if the definition of patriotism has not changed yet!). In his writings he always tried to preserve the centripetality of secular ideals rooted in our precious independence. With the unfortunate emergence of once-marginal anti-lib forces as major power brokers, preservation of this centripetality is becoming increasingly difficult. I am a believer. I also believe in the freedom of a non-believer to speak . My belief is grounded well and I do not mind! But those who build their houses on shaky grounds just cannot hold their own and go ballistic at the slightest undulations of ornery wind ... They tried to eliminate him , but failed.
But really did they?
The enormous stress (both physical & mental) that he underwent over the last few months of his abbreviated life definitely affected his heart greatly and adversely. I have no reason to suspect any proximate maleficence , but I also cannot believe that those stress factors have nothing to do with his untimely parting.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. There is much ado in some quarters about the reactions of Dr. Azad's children. These are petty and inconsequential. One should never lose the perspective that they lost their beloved father. One should never lose the perspective that their father died a natural death and yet an aura of extra-natural remains...
I honestly do not know how I would have reacted!!