আঠারো বছর বয়স – সুকান্ত ভট্টাচার্য

আঠারো বছর বয়স কী দুঃসহ
র্স্পধায় নেয় মাথা তোলবার ঝুঁকি,
আঠারো বছর বয়সেই অহরহ
বিরাট দুঃসাহসেরা দেয় যে উঁকি।

আঠারো বছর বয়সের নেই ভয়
পদাঘাতে চায় ভাঙতে পাথর বাধা,
এ বয়সে কেউ মাথা নোয়াবার নয়–
আঠারো বছর বয়স জানে না কাঁদা।

Chronicle of Tragedy and the Pendulum of Sentiment

 

Published in the Forum (April 2009)

 

Comment is free, but facts are sacred
-CP Scott

It was appalling to witness the fast swinging of the “sentiment pendulum” during the course of the BDR mutiny. When the first news of the mutiny broke, the sentiment pendulum decisively swung towards the mutineers, partly owing to their socio-economic background but mainly due to the stories of deprivation they managed to deliver to the public.

We saw people gathering around the BDR gates shouting solidarity, media focusing on the deprivation of soldiers, and some pundits even going as far as portraying it a “class revolt.”

After the mass graveyards were discovered, however, the sentiment pendulum swung hard in the opposite direction. People were shocked with the brutality of the massacre. Media switched from “mutiny” to “carnage” in referring to the incident. Around the world people took part in spontaneous candle light vigils.