Reason always prevails

By Tonoy Emroz
Avijit Roy had great admiration for Charvaka, arguably the greatest
philosophical offering to the world by Indian subcontinent.

Charvaka challenged the divinity of the Vedas, and dared to call the holy books
man-made. And for that, practitioners of Charvaka were persecuted.

Victims of blind faith dot the entire history of the human race, it appears.
Persecution of those who campaign for freedom and rationality at the hands of
dogmatic zealots is not something new.

If you ever visit the Campo de Fiori in Rome, at the centre of Roman
Catholicism, youll find a monument dedicated to Giordano Bruno, standing as
a symbol of defiance, who Italians regard as a martyr of freedom of thought,
and many prominent rationalists regard as a revolutionary thinker of his time.

In the year 1600, Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake by the Catholic
clergy for heresy, and all of his writings were censored.

Avijit, in response to the question of what inspired him, once said: Our aim is
to build a society which will not be bound by the what arbitrary authority,
comfortable superstition, stifling tradition, or suffocating orthodoxy dictate, but
would rather be based on reason, compassion, humanity, equality, and science.

We argue for a rational and scientific approach to human problems as an

alternative to religious dogma, strongly defend freedom of thought and civil
liberties, and strive for the secularization of politics, society, and the
educational system.

In the name of divinity, the religious fundamentalist establishment, for

centuries, has opposed social change, restricted scientific thought, suppressed
opinions, and oppressed change-makers.

But it all went in vain. Despite the centuries-long hostility, because of the
continuous promotion of ignorance and absurd claims such as them being the
only source of true knowledge, the human spirit overcame it all.

And, thankfully, rationality and scientific progress catapulted us to where we

are today as a species.

Today, religious clerics have become the laughingstock of the world, even in
countries as conservative as Pakistan, with some experts proposing scientific
research be done on djjins in order to solve the energy crisis of the world,
claiming them to be an infinite source of energy.

This is exactly how, even long after death, enlightened individuals such as Avijit
and Giordano claimed ultimate victory over ignorance through the
knowledge they promoted, the words they have written, and the books they
have authored.

In the evening of February 26, 2015, days after February the 21st the very
day that symbolises linguistic freedom for Avijit Roy's beloved Bengali nation
he was killed by the militant group Ansarullah, on his way home from the most
sacred sanctuary for a Bengali writer, the month long national book fair.

His wife Bonnya witnessed her own husbands murder even an entire contingent of on-
duty was within striking distance, but they never came to his aid.

The murder of Avijit Roy marked the beginning of a spate of killings in

Bangladesh. In the coming months, machete-wielding assailants, in the name
of their religion, slaughtered secular bloggers, publishers, university teachers,
free-thinker activists one by one.
To commemorate the sacrifices made by Avijit and his band of secularist writers, a
monument of defiance christened Mukto Chinta Stombho "Free thought monument" is
currently under construction under the supervision of world renowned sculptor Rasha, on
the very spot where Avijit was murdered.

But his death was only the beginning of the real tragedy. Avijit Roys books were barred
from being sold in this years national book fair, along with books by other secular writers
such as Nazmul Hassan and Ken Filkow Prize winner Raihan Abir.
Writers and authors shape human culture, our entire existence can be summed up with the
written word. No one has the authority to censor someones thoughts, not any government
and not any religion.

Bangladeshi nation was built upon secular beliefs, and such beliefs are increasingly being
propagated through technologies such as the internet, giving way to a new generation of
young writers thirsty to carry the torch once borne by martyrs such as Avijit Roy.
Religious fundamentalists have become desperate, their very ideologies are now cornered.

Its only a matter of time until the machete-wielders realise that death can never be the end
of reason.