There is much commonality at the core between the current riots in London and a incident of mob violence that occurred in Noakhali, Bangladesh.
True the extent of damages and the fatalities in the UK are much graver than that in Bangladesh – which left only one person dead. However, both incidents pay homage to the atrocities of police indifference and a long marginalised and under served populace.
The incident in Noakhali where a young man, labeled a 'robber' by the police, was dragged out of the police van by the police themselves to allow for mob justice (while they watched from the sidelines), seems little more than mindless violence and a increasingly recurring moment that shows that there is a very thin line between the humane and and the brutal.
While the act of mob justice was caught in the shaky, unclear, heavily pixelated lens of a mobile phone camera – what those images reveal are however not so unclear or pixelated. The images paint a very vivid picture of murder.
Only weeks ago, six students were brutally beaten by a mob in Savar, in the outskirts of Bangladesh capital Dhaka, because they were suspected of being robbers. This too only on one of the holiest nights for Muslims, called the blessed night and the night of record and deliverance. The night that all Muslims can raise their hands in supplication and prayer asking for forgiveness for their sins.
Instead of accounting for all their sins and asking for forgiveness, a group of people took the time to snuff out six young lives on a suspicion of guilt. Many probably didn't even know why they were kicking down the boys till they were dead.
Such is the sort of mindless violence that is plaguing Bangladesh in the recent few weeks. But the thing is, there probably is never any 'mindless' violence but only an appearance of it. The two incidents were the product of escalating frustration of a neglected people – people who the authorities have been neglecting because they just couldn't give a damn.
Just like the squeaky wheel always gets the grease, the whole country is beginning to start squeaking because violence is the clear, sure shot way to get heard. Apathy is contagious it seems, an apathetic government and its support organs have resulted in an apathetic people who just want to be heard - even if it means death and destruction of insignificant 'paraphernalia.'
That the so-called 'paraphernalia' are living, breathing lives or sources of livelihood for some is an altogether irrelevant matter for those whose voices have been ignored. Take it for the cause – especially if the people asked to 'take it' are the 'outsiders' or the 'better-to-dos.'
This is true whether it be London or Dhaka. [Read Laurie Penny's blog post on 'panic on the streets of London' for an insightful observation on source of London's troubles.]
The young man who was killed in Noakhali was called Milon – the 59-second video footage, if you have seen it, is very short but very disheartening. However, the footage shows more than just a man being kicked down and beaten... if you look close enough you also see seething frustration and an underlining hatred for a system that does not care about them.
It was easier for the people to let Milon 'take it' for the team, because, well, he wasn't really a part of the team anyway but perceived as a symbol of the system that had failed them (notwithstanding that the same system failed him too).
If you wish to see the video clip click on the link as I do not wish to upload it on my blog (but I warn you it is definitely NOT for the faint hearted).
(And readers with an really unhealthy dose of morbid curiosity can click on the other footages on youtube – alas, my heart and soul are not that strong so I cannot comment on whether they are 'easier' on the eyes and/or mind. Frankly I doubt it and will not take the gamble.)
London burns one street at a time and Bangladesh is being lynched one person at a time. But even when things calm down, it will never be the same or the situation will have really not been diffused until the symptoms and the real people issues that lend to the frustrations (and its eruption) are first addressed.
A marginalised people are a ticking time bomb. The bomb in London just went off last Saturday, and while there have been a few controlled explosions in and around Bangladesh, my mind shudders to imagine when the bomb will actually go off?
The incident in Noakhali where a young man, labeled a 'robber' by the police, was dragged out of the police van by the police themselves to allow for mob justice (while they watched from the sidelines), seems little more than mindless violence and a increasingly recurring moment that shows that there is a very thin line between the humane and and the brutal.
While the act of mob justice was caught in the shaky, unclear, heavily pixelated lens of a mobile phone camera – what those images reveal are however not so unclear or pixelated. The images paint a very vivid picture of murder.
Only weeks ago, six students were brutally beaten by a mob in Savar, in the outskirts of Bangladesh capital Dhaka, because they were suspected of being robbers. This too only on one of the holiest nights for Muslims, called the blessed night and the night of record and deliverance. The night that all Muslims can raise their hands in supplication and prayer asking for forgiveness for their sins.
Instead of accounting for all their sins and asking for forgiveness, a group of people took the time to snuff out six young lives on a suspicion of guilt. Many probably didn't even know why they were kicking down the boys till they were dead.
Such is the sort of mindless violence that is plaguing Bangladesh in the recent few weeks. But the thing is, there probably is never any 'mindless' violence but only an appearance of it. The two incidents were the product of escalating frustration of a neglected people – people who the authorities have been neglecting because they just couldn't give a damn.
Just like the squeaky wheel always gets the grease, the whole country is beginning to start squeaking because violence is the clear, sure shot way to get heard. Apathy is contagious it seems, an apathetic government and its support organs have resulted in an apathetic people who just want to be heard - even if it means death and destruction of insignificant 'paraphernalia.'
That the so-called 'paraphernalia' are living, breathing lives or sources of livelihood for some is an altogether irrelevant matter for those whose voices have been ignored. Take it for the cause – especially if the people asked to 'take it' are the 'outsiders' or the 'better-to-dos.'
This is true whether it be London or Dhaka. [Read Laurie Penny's blog post on 'panic on the streets of London' for an insightful observation on source of London's troubles.]
The young man who was killed in Noakhali was called Milon – the 59-second video footage, if you have seen it, is very short but very disheartening. However, the footage shows more than just a man being kicked down and beaten... if you look close enough you also see seething frustration and an underlining hatred for a system that does not care about them.
It was easier for the people to let Milon 'take it' for the team, because, well, he wasn't really a part of the team anyway but perceived as a symbol of the system that had failed them (notwithstanding that the same system failed him too).
If you wish to see the video clip click on the link as I do not wish to upload it on my blog (but I warn you it is definitely NOT for the faint hearted).
(And readers with an really unhealthy dose of morbid curiosity can click on the other footages on youtube – alas, my heart and soul are not that strong so I cannot comment on whether they are 'easier' on the eyes and/or mind. Frankly I doubt it and will not take the gamble.)
London burns one street at a time and Bangladesh is being lynched one person at a time. But even when things calm down, it will never be the same or the situation will have really not been diffused until the symptoms and the real people issues that lend to the frustrations (and its eruption) are first addressed.
A marginalised people are a ticking time bomb. The bomb in London just went off last Saturday, and while there have been a few controlled explosions in and around Bangladesh, my mind shudders to imagine when the bomb will actually go off?
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