Murder of Free Speech

From childhood, I have been a very outspoken kid. Sometimes, my parents appreciated me for it, sometimes they didn’t like it but they never stopped me from speaking my mind. This trait is still the strongest part of my personality. I criticize the Government for the wrong actions they take, I stand up in support of causes I believe in irrespective of how many people disagree with me. But what it came to threat of my life? Would it quieten me? Probably not.

I am deeply saddened by the ruthless murder of three #BangaladeshBloggers in the last two years, the latest being atheist blogger Washiqur Rahman who was murdered for his views on religion. Religion is a personal choice and if you have a right to follow it, I have a right to criticize it without being answerable to anyone and definitely not being murdered for it. The other two bloggers were Avijit Roy and Rajib Haider.

All these cases have been murders in broad daylight, yet the auhorities are turning a blind eye to it. What kind of world are we building towards? If they did something that was against the law, then let law take its due course. And is your religion so weak that it can be threatened by someone speaking against it.

Why would anyone want to stay in a country where their safety is threatened because of having different views from other people? I see my country going the same way and it scares me. I don’t want to stay in an atmosphere of religious intolerance, lack of freedom of speech, no freedom of choice in what I eat and I don’t want my future generations growing up in this atmosphere. I want them to learn about their culture and rich history, but I also want them to be world citizens who accept all cultures, are open-minded, speak their minds and accept other people’s views too. Will they also face life-threatening situations because of that?

Let us come together and make our voices stronger and our solidarity greater in support of Rajib Haider, Avijit Roy and Washiqur Rahman and all those who are being slaughtered for speaking their minds!

Faith and God

Many people worship God, fear him and are afraid of incurring his wrath, they pray hard to him everyday. They look for God in temples and other places of worship.

My concept of God is very different. I don’t worship God. I talk to God as a friend. Sometimes, I will bargain with him – you give me this and I will do this. Sometimes, he listens to me, sometimes he doesn’t. I bargain with him most fervently when I leave late for work and need a miracle to reach office on time(this happens quite often). To me, God is not someone who is to be worshipped in a particular building known as a temple or in the small mandir at home.

God is a faith that you carry in your heart all the time, a feeling inside your heart that there is someone looking out for you. To me, God is a friend who lets me make mistakes, lets me learn from the lesson and never forsakes or leaves me alone. Try as I might, I can’t find God in temples, mosques, churches etc. I visit these places because I love history and I feel history coming alive there. To me, God is not a stone idol, but a feeling of strength, a guiding force that travels with me everywhere I go.

That’s why I believe in God and when I pray to God sometimes, it is just praying and at those times, the God I pray to doesn’t have a form. I just feel a supreme being who is present in all the things around us. At those times, when I am praying, it is just a prayer. I don’t ask for anything.

(This is not meant to hurt anyone’s religious sentiments or portray those sentiments as false or unreal. It is just my portrayal of my vision of God).