Shodalap

“ব্যান্ডের গান শুরুর আগেই হাজার হাজার তরুণ-যুবক ঢুকে পড়ে নারীদের জন্য সংরক্ষিত স্থানে। শুরু হয় বিশৃঙ্খলা থেকে তাণ্ডব। দুই তরুণীকে আমি অজ্ঞান অবস্থায় উদ্ধার করে পাশের বাড়িতে পৌঁছে দিই। ১৫ মিনিট পর ফিরে এসে দেখি, সেই একই অবস্থা। আরও দুই তরুণী আমাকে জড়িয়ে ধরে বাঁচার আকুতি জানায়। প্রায় অজ্ঞান হয়ে পড়া এমন ৪০ থেকে ৫০ জনকে আমি উদ্ধার করতে দেখেছি।’ এটি ময়মনসিংহের আনন্দমোহন কলেজের গত ৩০ জানুয়ারির রাতের ঘটনা। প্রত্যক্ষদর্শী এক তরুণ এভাবেই সেদিনের তাণ্ডবের বিবরণ দেন প্রথম আলোর কাছে. ”

“অনুষ্ঠানে উপস্থিত একজন শিক্ষার্থী নাম প্রকাশ না করার শর্তে বলেন, ৩০ জানুয়ারি সন্ধ্যা সাড়ে সাতটার দিকে সাংস্কৃতিক অনুষ্ঠান শুরুর সময় পেছন থেকে কয়েক হাজার দর্শক ঢুকে পড়ে নারীদের জন্য সংরক্ষিত স্থানে। শুরু হয় হুড়োহুড়ি। এ সময় অধিকাংশ নারী বের হয়ে যেতে পারলেও প্রায় পাঁচ শ নারী আটকা পড়েন। উচ্ছৃঙ্খল দর্শনার্থীরা এরই মধ্যে অনেকের শ্লীলতাহানির চেষ্টা করে। ভুক্তভোগীদের চিৎকারে তখন ভীতিকর পরিবেশের সৃষ্টি হয়. ”…..

“সেদিনের কথা মনে করতেই ডুকরে কেঁদে ওঠেন আরেক তরুণী। তিনি জানান, সেই উৎসবে অনেকে গেছেন স্বামীর সঙ্গে, কেউ সন্তানের সঙ্গে, কেউ বা সহপাঠীদের সঙ্গে। কয়েক হাজার উচ্ছৃঙ্খল তরুণের এ তাণ্ডব দেখে হতবাক সবাই। কলেজের পাশের এলাকা হামিদ উদ্দিন রোডের একটি মেসের ছাত্রী বলেন, ‘অশ্লীলতা এতটাই ভয়াবহ ছিল যে আমরা নিজেদের রক্ষা করতে পারছিলাম না।’ মীরবাড়ি সড়কের এক দোকান কর্মচারী বলেন, ‘লাঠি দিয়ে আঘাত করেও অনেক ছেলেকে তাণ্ডব থেকে ফেরানো যাচ্ছিল না।’ ভুক্তভোগী এক তরুণী বলেন, ‘মানসিকভাবে আমরা ভেঙে পড়েছি। না পারছি পরিবারকে জানাতে, না পারছি চিকিৎসা নিতে”

তবে এলাকার অনেকে এই অপ্রীতিকর ঘটনার জন্য আয়োজকদের দায়ী করেন। উদ্যাপন কমিটির সচিব এবং ছাত্রলীগ প্যানেল থেকে নির্বাচিত কলেজ ছাত্র সংসদের সাবেক সাধারণ সম্পাদক কাজী আজাদ জাহান বলেন, ‘ঘটনার পর আহত মেয়েদের আমি দেখতে গিয়েছি। তাঁদের কাছে দুঃখ প্রকাশ করেছি।’ পুলিশ-র্রাবের নীরবতা সম্পর্কে তিনি বলেন, অনেক বেশি লোক থাকার কারণে আইনশৃঙ্খলা বাহিনী অ্যাকশনে যায়নি।

Read here full report from Prothom Alo

It appears that the focal point of this reporting is to blame the authority (police/RAB) or the current government for their inefficiency. The stark reality is that the reporter is actually hiding the disease of our society by pointing finger to others. In fact, any government or law enforcers won’t be able to prevent such kind of incidents. This report should have highlighted the moral decadence of the society. However, most of the mass media in Bangladesh including Prothom ALo are providing the ammunition for these kinds of immoral activities through their campaign such as Badle jao, juger sheathe taal milao, hariye jao.

What are the root causes and how to prevent the moral diseases of the society? Is the mainstream education (secular) enough to stop happening perverted activity in the society? To get the answer we should look at the scenario of so-called developed secular societies or countries. Generally speaking, people of the developed country are educated and therefore it should reflect in the society. I would like to provide some information- a tip of the iceberg- for your own judgment.

A report mandated by US Congress estimated that as many as 4.5 million students, out of roughly 50 million in American schools, are subject to sexual misconduct by an employee of a school sometime between kindergarten and 12th grade. A seven-month investigation conducted by AP found 2,570 educators whose teaching credentials were revoked, denied, surrendered or sanctioned from 2001 through 2005 following allegations of sexual misconduct.

A survey in US by National Center for Health Statistics, a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed that 29 percent of men, 9 percent of women say they’ve had 15 or more sexual partners

Recent statistics conducted by Governmental agency reported that married couple has become minority in Canada (here) and US. In other words, majority of the couple are cohabiting (here).

In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, cohabitation is very common; roughly 50% of all children are born into families of unmarried couples.

A global survey (from February-December, 2009) conducted by American information-technology security firm Symantec (tracked anonymously tracked 14.6 million global searches) revealed that “sex” is the fourth-most-searched word online among teenagers. Most stunning finding is that the word “porn” was the fourth most- searched term by children aged seven and under.

Recently in UK, a 13-year old boy has been emerged as a youngest father in the world whose sexual partner is a 15-year old teenage girl. Interestingly, eight other teenage boys are claiming to be the father of the baby!

What we have just learnt from the above mentioned information, we may start thinking about the widespread immoral behaviors in the secular Western society. In this case our perception of “moral values” might be conflicting with “secular values”. What we know as SIN in religious perspective, that is not sin or even legalize in secular term depending on personal freedom until it does not harm other people directly. Homosexuality, for instance, was defined as mental disease until 1973 in American Psychiatric Association. Currently, most of the Western countries regard this phenomenon as natural and accepted in the society. The same-sex marriage has been legalized in more than 23 European countries (to learn more). The evolutionism is the basis of secular values. In Darwinian evolutionary perspective, everything including social norms are kept changing over time. Therefore, there is no such “morality scale” in the secular term when compared with that of religious perspective.

Sometimes, for argument, we like to compare our social system with that of Western developed societies and we conclude that their social values are worth to follow. In this context, I think that we are mixing our “own world” with secular system or values. Do we mentally ready what the people of secular society honors some values such gay marriage, live-together without marriage, extra marital sex with consent etc? That does not mean that they are bad people in worldly sense. There are many atheists who show good behaviors towards others. Should we consider them and their societal values as our model?

The incidence in Ananda Mahan colleague campus, in fact, depicts the rapidly degrading moral values of our society. Universities are the highest place in the education system. How about moral status there? It is very well known that pornography is becoming a part and parcel in any university campus these days. How about our social guardian- university teachers? Do you think that our model (university teachers) behave in a moral way? Why are there widespread reports regarding the immoral misconducts of university teachers? Isn’t our mainstream education system failing?

Our popular mass media and columnists are campaigning to change to society in order to adapt and accept the reality of the rapidly changing world taking Western system as a model. Ironically, when there is such an incidence like in Ananda Mahan college campus, columnists or news papers start blame game from political perspectives, fail to mention about the root causes of those incidents.

Encouraging religious morality is the key to prevent rapidly degrading morality in our society. Irony is that our proposed education policy has been made aiming to adapt the Western system. I agree that our education system has to be improved, but not by sacrificing the religious values. If you read carefully the introduction part of education policy, you find Darwinian principle “survival for the fittest” (Introduction page-II, last para) in order to show the importance of the reformation of the education policy. In introduction chapter, it emphasizes that all the NITI (principles) is NOT fixed, not steadfast and that should be changeable. Likewise, education policy should be changed (Introduction page-III, last para). The aim of this policy to make people secular minded (secular gonomukhi), progressive, rationalist, songkritomona and so on (please chapter shikkhar uddesho).

In page 76 (appendix-II), it shows clearly that lolitokola is an obligatory subject and all student have to go thru exam to secure the top position in the class in primary education (I-VIII). It mentions that lolitokola should be taught as professional education (please see chapter lolitokola, page 43). It includes song, Jatra, acting, sculptor, dance, natok, cinema (theater), recitation of poem, handicraft etc. What about your judgment the lolitkoal about? If class I and II students are being taught on lolitkola, why not then the basics of religion?

According to proposed education policy, they have consulted and got opinions from 54 representative groups. But they did not even bother to take opinion from the well respected Muslim scholars from our society when devising such an important policy which will ultimately shape up the country. They clearly stated that education policy was based on the experiences and judgment of the committee members. All those people who drafted this policy, most of them think that Islam is the only problem for social progress. In the name of attacking Jamaati Islami, they intentionally attack or ridicule Islam, which are obvious from their comments, columns. In fact, even before making education policy, co-chair of education policy clearly stated that religion is on the only hindrance for Bangladesh progress. Isn’t this attitude question the so-called honest motives of the secular policy makers? What is your justification? Are we heading towards establishing a morally developed society or society based on fulfilling our desire?