Poet Helal Hafiz has written a poem titled 'Je Jale Agun Jaley'. The name of the poem written in black in this book of his poetry is 'Vulgar Civilization'. A two-word title poem, and a complete poem of only two lines; 'Neutron bombs understand / Humans don't understand!' What a powerful source of two lines. What a source of great power is the title of the poem. The civilization that despises people and people's lives can't be obscene!
The poem is from the eighties, yet relevant all the time. In many ways the two lines come into discussion. More so, when trying to distinguish between the living and the inanimate comes to the fore. When there is an attempt to make other things important by keeping people secondary. The poem has stirred again during this quota movement. Those who enter the field to demand realization of demands, their demands may be reasonable, may be unreasonable, whether their demands are accepted or not may be a matter of policy-making level; But the application of force? No, of course not! The matter is inhumane, obscene!
While the first phase of the 2018 quota movement was isolated fights, the second phase of the 2024 quota movement was violence. In this violence, the movement was hijacked by the infiltration of dark assailants, vandalism took place, huge damage was done to state assets, people were endangered, normal civil life was interrupted, the state was in crisis of existence, the government was in disarray, anarchy was created in the country, people's lives were not safe; all true there is no denying it. Who is responsible, who is responsible, why is responsible, how is the discussion going on here? Attempts to start a discussion are also not noticeable. Before this, under the grip of the division, efforts are being made to achieve their own ambitions, especially political benefits.
There are no statistics on how many lives have been lost in this movement and post-movement violence. The government has informed how many policemen have been attacked, how many policemen have been injured. The judicial inquiry committee that the government has made, the committee will investigate only 6 deaths on the first day of violence, make comments, give various recommendations. The countless deaths beyond that will not be discussed much. I do not see the possibility of a trial, because usually those responsible for such deaths get informal impunity. It is feared that this time will not be an exception. But there is no doubt that mud will be thrown even if there is no trial.
Police is the law enforcement force. They have accurate calculations. The concerned authorities will keep an account of how many people have been affected by the violence, and how many of them have been injured by participating in the violence. There will be compensation for their families. They have the authority to take responsibility. But others...? As they have no account, there is no one to take responsibility. As a result, there will be no compensation for them, not even the slightest sympathy from any authority. Rather, each death will increase the suffering of the family members. Many families will have to bear various burdens due to the division.
Any death is unwanted. Some of the people who lost their lives in this huge violence were part of the violence; some were under its control. We had the opportunity to look at the matter as a human death rather than finding responsibility, but is that opportunity being taken at all? Here, who is anti-government, and who is pro-government - the dividing line drawn here is ultimately a replica of 'vulgar civilization'. What a horrible picture of people not understanding.
To prevent violence, the government has imposed a curfew in the country to bring the situation under control. It is claimed that efforts are being made to preserve greater rights by curtailing civil rights. The country is tolerating the issue of neglecting civil rights thinking that the light of day is coming at the end of darkness.
The lives lost in the post-movement violence will never return. We can convey to the state the demand for ensuring good treatment for those who are injured. But the treatment is also in the face of uncertainty. According to media reports, many are leaving the hospital before the end of treatment due to fear of arrest. Now that the government is on the case, many are likely to be arrested. Many of the injured are part of the violence, while others are simply injured by the accident — with doubts about whether they will even be able to complete treatment. In such a situation, the police's opportunistic circle also becomes active. Here is a lot of business!
The quota movement was not under the control of the students until the end. The country was not even under government control at the end. Law enforcement forces beat as well as beat. Curfew is being implemented in the country along with the regular forces to bring the situation under control. Lathi-charges-bullets-fires-gas-pepper sprays were all there. People were in danger. Now there are reports of deaths of people who were not part of this conflict, who were shot on roofs, streets, balconies, and died. Even though there is no accurate data on the number, nor is the government interested, it is not possible to deny these deaths.
The death of at least two hundred people is being reported through different media. No one knows exactly what this number is. But we know institutionally, this violence has caused various damages to government facilities. Foreign Minister Mohammad Hasan Mahmood visited the ruins along with high-ranking diplomats of various countries and organizations. Various ministers including the Prime Minister are visiting different places. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was overwhelmed with emotion after visiting the metro rail station. Her cry has touched us too. She asked the countrymen to judge it.
The damage to brick-stone-technology and various media structures has caused huge financial loss to the state. Governments and heads of government are getting emotional showing the financial losses. Determine its financial value which is also going to be part of the political campaign. But the people, who died, the people who were killed, are little talked about. In the way the state is moving forward, the matter of equal value judgment is a priority. As we are not part of the government, we are interested in seeing government facilities and assets as intangibles, assuming that even if it is an undesirable event, it is fulfilling. But the waste of life, I know because it will not be fulfilled.
The government as an institution is busy in determining the financial value from an institutional point of view, but we as human beings, even if the financial loss hurts us, we give priority to the value of human life as a human aspect, and I think this is a matter of discussion. If there is money, there will be metro rail, public and private facilities will be renovated, built, hundreds of thousands of cars can be bought; but even if there is money, not even a drop of blood can be made for people; And to return life, it is impossible!
