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Serajul Islam Choudhury

  • Emeritus Professor

Emeritus Professor, University of Dhaka

Sheikh Mujib: A visionary of extraordinary foresight
Sheikh Mujib
State and Politics

Sheikh Mujib: A visionary of extraordinary foresight

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s personality was exceptional. Those close to him, and even his adversaries on a personal level, were drawn to him. Some senior officers of the Pakistani military were also inclined towards his stance. This is why, before the genocide began, Major General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, serving as the head of the army in East Bengal, resigned; and SM Hasan of the Navy was replaced by Tikka Khan as governor and military ruler. Tikka Khan had earned the title ‘Butcher of Balochistan’, a title he rightly deserved, and he came to East Bengal in the same capacity – as a ‘butcher’.

Mass uprising of 2024 did not fulfill people's aspirations
Mass uprising of 2024
State and Politics

Mass uprising of 2024 did not fulfill people's aspirations

The departure of a patriarch does not mean the end of patriarchy. Dismantling patriarchy requires a social revolution—something that has yet to happen in our country. Equality of rights among people has not been established; nor is there any immediate hope of decentralizing power. Securing the fulfillment of people’s basic needs still remains a distant dream. And because social ownership has not replaced private ownership through a social revolution, the real foundation of inequality remains intact.

Failure of pro-Liberation War forces and then...
pro-Liberation War
State and Politics

Failure of pro-Liberation War forces and then...

The failure of the pro-Liberation War forces is certainly one of the reasons behind the rise of anti-Liberation fundamentalist forces. They couldn’t deliver anything. They couldn’t show the youth a dream of the future. Firstly, that dream was never realised. The second is that unemployment has increased, poverty has increased. When people are unemployed, when they are poor, they seek shelter, they seek assurance; but here, society and the state are not providing shelter and assurance. People are struggling on their own, remaining unemployed, suffering from despair, not receiving justice, not finding refuge. For justice, for shelter, they then turn to religion. In the hope that even if not in this world, they will find justice in the afterlife.

The main problem in Bangladesh is inequality
No democracy
State and Politics

The main problem in Bangladesh is inequality

Is there any need to state the obvious that poverty lies behind all of our problems and failures? Take, for example, family planning. It is true that a small family is a happy family; but a greater truth is that a wealthy family is automatically a small family.

Literature’s opposition to the state
Literature’s opposition to the state
State and Politics

Literature’s opposition to the state

Even though he did not write poetry, Plato was undoubtedly a poet—this is evident throughout his prose writings. Through his use of metaphors, allegories, and word choices, the philosopher employed both the imagination and aesthetic sense of the poet within him. There is no reason to doubt that he understood the appeal and power of poetry in his personal life. Yet, in his ideal state, he made no room for poets. He even gave instructions for their expulsion. Poets may be honoured, adorned with garlands and perfumes, but they must be politely told: Gentlemen, there is no place for you in our state.

Rabindranath: A hero comes once, not again and again
Rabindranath
Art and Culture

Rabindranath: A hero comes once, not again and again

You, Rabindranath, did not believe in the state; you believed in society. In your view, in the Indian subcontinent, society was paramount, while the state was an imposition—an intrusive entity. The state was external; society was our own. You held a firm belief that we could shape society in our own image.