South Asia Citizens Web

bout two years ago, Asif Mohiuddin, 31, was on his way to office in an upscale Dhaka neighbourhood when he was accosted by three men, who later identified themselves as members of Ansarullah Bangla group, part of the Al-Qaeda network. Like Bangladeshi blogger Avijit Roy, who was slaughtered in the heart of Dhaka last month, Mohiuddin was stabbed six times on his neck and shoulder. Fortunately, he survived. Mohiuddin and Roy are members of a new kind of pariah club in Bangladesh.

Official British anti-communism has attracted much less attention than its American counterpart, with its perspiring, malodorous knuckleheads jabbing their lists before the cameras.

Last week’s riots, which were instigated by a religious attack, brought a long-oppressed community’s fury to the fore. In that sense they are a sign of things to come. Anyone walking the streets of Pakistan would do well to remember that.

“India and Pakistan are neighbours who are open to the world but closed to each other” - Pakistan’s foremost human rights activist and public intellectual I A Rehamn said in New Delhi at a memorable Seminar on Understanding Pakistan Today aimed at challenging the dangerous myths and prejudices that are manipulated by self serving elites and institutional interests with utter disregard for the common concerns and futures of the peoples of the two countries.