Intellectual pogrom

In the annals of human civilisation, even small countries or isles rose to great height and/or commanded respect from all simply because the lands produced people of extraordinary intellect and creativity. At a time when intellectual luminosity is conspicuous by its absence, Bangladesh cannot help lamenting the loss of luminaries and torch-bearers of intellect just two days before the country was liberated. It was a terrible blow dealt with a most sinister motive. Only a few lucky ones survived the worst intellectual pogrom.
Its long-term effect on the Bangalee nation has been quite devastating. Suddenly the tradition of intellectual endeavour of a nation was stunted if not totally snapped. Many of the ills the nation has inherited owes to that black chapter of history where defeated enemies from within planned and executed their macabre mission. The nation is still paying for the loss it suffered on December 14, 1971. Many of the political changeovers that occurred later could never have shaken the country if the people of intellect slain on that fateful day survived to guide the nation.
No, they were not politically active but their scholarship and ideals could have been enough to set the tradition of absorbing pursuance knowledge and love for the land of birth. Intellectuals or people of creativity suddenly do not fall from the sky. They have to be nurtured in an appropriate ambience. And the men and women who were successfully targeted for the intellectual pogrom were the ones who could nourish and take ahead the Bangali intellectualism and creativity. Except for some rare flashes of intellectual brilliance, the land has been witnessing barrenness in this domain.
Surely, the country has made substantial progress in some areas -most strikingly in the area of economy. This appears to have made the political leaders complacent. What the country is woefully missing is the excellence of intellect and the environment needed for fostering it. Stalwarts like GC Dev, Munir Chowdhury, Zahir Raihan, Shahidullah Kaiser, Jotirmoy Guha Thakurta, Dr Fazle Rabbi and many others fell victim to the Pakistani marauders and their local collaborators only to leave an intellectual void in the newly emerged country. They were irreplaceable.
The void created then has largely been responsible for the subsequent intellectual aberration in myriad forms. It still struggles to overcome the loss. But it is not easy. The process has been stifled at the very outset. Today, education has been commercialised, the privileged given a free hand to acquire wealth as much as they could means notwithstanding. There is no commitment to the country and its people. The slier, more corrupt and intriguing people are the better chance for them to icing on the cake. But this is at the cost of the bare minimum necessity of a segment of society most wretched and underprivileged.
Abject social inequality is proof enough that those enjoying power and privilege have not so much cared for the ill-fated countrymen. There indeed lies the role of people of great intellect and conscience. Unless one can strike a balance between plain living and high thinking, there is always a chance of a moral slip. This has happened to the nation. So it is incumbent upon the nation not just to pay ritual tribute to the martyred intellectuals on December 14 but to emulate their ideals in order to establish a society based on respect for knowledge and justice.