By Professor Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen Bangladesh is passing through one of the darkest and most perilous chapters in its contemporary history. Across the country, a terrifying pattern of anarchy, arson, mob violence, and institutional collapse has emergedโexposing not only the fragility of public order but also the alarming absence of state responsibility. What is unfolding is not a series of isolated incidents; it is a systemic breakdown of law, accountability, and moral authority.
A Nation Under Siege
In recent days, diplomatic missions, cultural institutions, media houses, political leadersโ residences, and ordinary citizens have all come under violent attack. Offices have been vandalized, homes set ablaze, journalists assaulted, and minorities brutally targetedโeven burned alive in front of hundreds of onlookersโoften in broad daylight, and almost always with impunity.
Assault On Free Press
Independent journalismโalready under immense pressureโhas been placed directly in the line of fire. The Dhaka offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star were vandalised and set ablaze as they recently published a research report that states that 69% of people still will vote for the banned political party, the Awami League of Sheikh Hasina, the ousted prime minister, if it is allowed to participate.ย The Jamaat-e-Islami supporters and their youth fronts, Chatra Shibir, July fighters et al couldnโt accept it, and therefore, they burned down these major dailies. Incidentally, these two newspapers have consistently opposed the Hasina government.ย Similar attacks followed in Rajshahi. These are not random acts of vandalism; they are deliberate assaults on truth, transparency and freedom of the press.
Cultural And Historical Erasure
Symbols of culture and shared heritage have also been targeted. The historic Dhanmondi 32, a cornerstone of Bangladeshโs political history, was once again vandalized. The office of Chhayantโa revered cultural institutionโwas attacked and burned. The Indira Gandhi Cultural Center was vandalized and set on fire, reflecting a dangerous hostility toward cultural exchange and pluralism.
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These attacks represent more than property damage; they signify an attempt to erase memory, intimidate culture, and fracture identity.
Political Homes In Flames
Violence has not spared political figures or their families. In Uttara, at least 32 shops were vandalized, and the houses of many Awami League leaders were set on fire. The homes of the late Mohiuddin Chowdhury in Chittagong, former minister Bir Bahadur, Education Minister Nowfel and Shipping State Minister Khaled Mahmudโs house in Dinajpur were all attacked or engulfed in suspicious fires.
The message is unmistakable: no one is safe, and no institution is protected.
Communal Violence And Mob Brutality
Perhaps the most horrifying incident occurred in Mymensingh, where a Hindu youthโaccused of โinsulting religionโโwas beaten by a mob and hanged from a tree, his body later burned alive. This was not justice; it was medieval barbarity carried out in a modern nation-state. Such acts expose the terrifying rise of mob rule, religious extremism, and the total collapse of legal due process.
Where Is The State?
This wave of terror raises a question that can no longer be avoided:
Where are the guardians of the Republic?
The army chief publicly claimed responsibility for protecting peopleโs vehicles and goods. Yet the people themselves were left defenseless. Citizens watched as mobs ruled the streets, militants dictated outcomes, and institutions burnedโwithout meaningful intervention.
Handing over the streets to chaos is not neutrality; it is abdication.
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If the armed forces cannotโor will notโprotect journalists, minorities, cultural institutions, diplomatic missions, and ordinary citizens, then who bears responsibility for the destruction of the nation? Should the nation appeal to the UN to send UN peacekeepers?
A Republic At The Brink
Bangladesh today stands at a crossroads. One path leads toward restoration of the rule of law, accountability, and democratic order. The other leads toward permanent instability, international isolation, and internal collapse.
Silence from authorities is no longer just negligenceโit is complicity.
We echo what Freedom Fighter Dr. Mohsin Ali of New York has correctly stated: โHistory will not ask who shouted loudest in moments of chaos. It will ask who stood up when the nation was burningโand who allowed it to burn.โ
Professor Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen: Former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh
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