I logged into Facebook and suddenly felt like I had time-traveled to the Middle Ages. We as a nation have been regressing for a long time, and now it seems like the pace of our backward journey has accelerated. The art and culture we’ve built over millennia has been destroyed in a single stroke by a so-called artist who has misused their power to the lowest degree. I’m not talking about some remote corner of the world where civilization’s light hasn’t reached. Nor is this person miles away from human civilization. They are one of us, an expatriate living in one of the world’s developed countries.
Now I understand. Even a monkey can be trained to draw a picture, so drawing itself isn’t a great achievement. What matters is the message. And this person has exposed the darkest part of their own heart.
It’s funny because, from what I know, the person they’re trying to insult hasn’t broken any laws in the country they live in. And even if they have, there are law enforcement agencies in this country that don’t lick the government’s boots. They could have reported this to the police and drawn a picture of a Russell viper. Instead, they’ve tried to insult someone else. Shame on you.
He has expressed his opinion in his own way. But our drawing friend has forgotten about ‘freedom of speech’. This is quite natural. For many years, he, like all of us, may have refrained from exercising the ‘freedom of speech’ of others. Immersed in one-sided flattery, he has forgotten that where there are people, there will be ideologies. Even if we don’t believe in each other’s ideals, it’s okay, but everyone has the right to express their opinion. No fascist government can suppress that right, even if it tries to. He couldn’t keep his communal bigotry to himself – he has not only devalued himself as an artist but has also raised doubts about his identity as a human being.
What’s even more funny is those who have reacted positively to this caricature and are commenting. But what’s their fault? Everyone who came out of the ‘Jantar Mantar’ in ‘Hirok Rajar Deshe’ used to say such things. I feel sorry for this so-called artist, Kamrul Hasan, and at the same time, I strongly condemn his work. He has pulled the rope. He has become Raja Khan Khan. I pray that the influence of the ‘Jantar Mantar’ is removed from you all. May we all become free people again.
