On the night of 7 March 2013, an atheist blogger Sunnyur Rahaman was attacked by two men who hacked him with machetes while shouting “Allah-Hu-Akbar” in his home town Mirpur. He sustained wounds in his head, hand, chest and legs. Sunnyur, currently in exile in India, narrates his ordeal to The Sunday Guardian. In his late 20s and father to an eight-year-old son, the hapless blogger had to separate from his wife due to the adverse circumstances. His parents have disowned him, too. He fears for his family’s safety in Bangladesh. Rahaman escaped from Dhaka to Sharjah, to Nepal and finally to India. He remains under cover. He is changing his locations often. Rahaman is optimistic that one day things will change and the change will be for good. Till then he will continue to write sceptical blogs and draw cartoons to unmask the self proclaimed custodians of humanity.
Q. How different are things in India compared to Bangladesh?
A. Slowly Bangladesh is becoming a safe haven for Islamic fundamentalists which I have not seen here in India. India has been dealing with terrorism very well unlike my country.
Q. Why did you leave Bangladesh?
A. After the attack in 2013, I realised that I’m fighting for a cause. But if I stayed in Bangladesh, my voice would have been choked or I would have been killed. I want to unmask those who are trying to unleash terror in the name of jihad.
Q. Given the life threat, do you regret what you have done so far?
A. No, not at all. I’m proud of what I have been doing and will continue to do so till my last breath. They cannot deter me.
‘Slowly Bangladesh is becoming a safe haven for Islamic fundamentalists which I have not seen here in India. India has been dealing with terrorism very well unlike my country.’
A. Well, the change began in 1971 and the Shahbagh uprising was a message to the political class.
Q. There were a series of attacks on your fraternity. Is your fraternity a chosen target now?
A. The pen is mightier than the sword. When corruption and radicalisation try to choke all voices, it is the intellectual class that has a role to play. And my fraternity has been successful in bringing the nation together and that may be the reason why attempts are being made to eliminate us one by one.
Q. Is the government of Bangladesh doing enough to deal with the situation?
A. Apparently, it seems so. But a lot more needs to be done to save the country from the clutches of evil.
Q. Do you still receive threats?
A. Yes. I often receive e-mails, calls, messages from anonymous persons threatening to kill me. I heard that JMB, Jamat-e-Islami, Ansar-ul-Bangla have kept me on their hit list. The security agencies advised me to make limited movements. And I’m changing locations often.
Q. Don’t you wish to go back?
A. Yes, of-course. If not now, then some day I will go back to my native place. There is a line in our national anthem, “aamar sonar Bangla, ami tomai bhalobasi (my golden Bengal, I love you)”. I’m a patriotic man and I love my country.
Q. Any expectations from India?
A. I have sought for asylum in India which is under consideration. I would request Sushma ji (External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj) to consider my plea and give me an opportunity to live here.