The tacit tolerance of bigotry over the years has nurtured ideologies that are diametrically opposite to the founding principles of our nation

Mahatma Gandhi had once said, to judge how civilised a nation is, just look at how it treats its own minorities. Going by this yardstick, Bangladesh does not make a passing grade.

If it is true that a nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable members, we are very far from it.