Is society getting increasingly degenerate one?

It is a matter of concern that we are to see some stories of brutality, death, torture, atrocities, fear, repression, etc. Everyday scores of news items, video clips and photos surface on media and social media.

Once there was a think, ‘If we see newspapers in the morning, we will be able to get the view of a society’. Now through logging in Facebook in the morning we can see the full scenario of a society. Opening Facebook in the morning, we feel bad and it continues all the day long. 

Studies suggest that using Facebook is spreading unhappiness, addiction disorder, anxiety disorder and depression. We also see issues of well-being related to people using the social network but it is a very small portion.

There is a trend that people in our country are becoming more aggressive. We are to see so much violence around us every day.  The streets, markets and institutions everywhere. 

Most of the people fell angry at times in their life. In most of the cases, people can control those. But it is a matter of concern people are becoming out of control now, and it is creating a great problem in our society. 

Humans have a propensity towards crimes. They vent their anger by hurting others, making them suffer, oppressing and even killing them. Crime exists in all societies, but there is a way about crimes. 

But people in our country have recently taken it to a different degree, extreme cruelty which is not described in words.  Crimes are happening now just like the world’s uncivilized nations like some African counties. It can be said brutality is galore and our society is getting increasingly degenerate one. 

Many of us and concerned authorities may say the inhuman incidents as scattered or isolated incidents. But it has become a matter deeply concern for common citizens. It is seemed that incidents of brutality are on the rise and those inhuman incidents are a view of degenerate society.

In the month of last July and August, we had to see violent crackdown on protesting students and firing directly upon the protesters.

During the July-August mass uprising, about 1000 people, mostly students, youths and children were killed brutally.

Many videos have surfaced on social media platform showing how students and young people were killed brutality. Manny people are becoming sick and shock, seeing a video circulating on social media that shows bodies being loaded onto a police van in front of Ashulia police station. Later, the bodies were burnt. The video of burning bodies on August 5 circulated on social media, leading to widespread criticism.

A video footage shows shooting at Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayed, who posed no physical threat to the law enforcers, during the quota reform protest near the campus on July 16. He died soon afterwards.

A video of Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mughdo, which is said to show his last moments, is circulating on social media. In the video, Mughdo is seen wiping his eyes with his shirt sleeves and asking the protesters, ‘Paani Lagbe Paani?’ (Need Water? Need Water?). Mughdo was shot in the head in broad daylight, he was taken to a hospital but duty doctors declared him dead. 

After the mass uprising, countrymen again became shock seeing a video of the death of a young man on the Dhaka University.  Tofazzal Hoosain, hailed from Barguna and a mentally challenged, was beaten to death by some students on suspicion of being a thief.

The incident took place at the Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall. According to eye witnesses, some students caught Tofazzal at night, and he was beaten multiple times in the hall’s guestroom. He was even fed at the university canteen. After that, he was again beat up. At one stage, Tofazzal was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where he was pronounced dead.

The incident is eerily reminiscent of a BUET incident five years ago. Chhatra League cadres kept Abrar, a fellow student, locked up in a room.  Abrar was beaten to death.

Shamim Ahmed, a former Chhatra League leader of Jahangirnagar University (JU), died, hours after he had been beaten up by some students on the campus. He was the organising secretary of a former committee of JU Chhatra League. According to the university source, Shamim used to live near the campus and was seen with Chhatra League leaders who attacked the quota reform protesters.  Keeping relations with the political leaders is not a crime.

Witnesses said Shamim was first beaten up by a group of students at the Prantik Gate of the campus. Later, security guards from the university rescued him and took him to the university's security section. But some students beat him again in the presence of security guards and proctor. Later, Shamim was handed over to Ashulia police. As his condition deteriorated, he was taken to the Gonoshasthaya Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Brutal incidents including killing of innocent people, incidents of mob justice, lynching are taking place one after another in the country for a long time. Those are shaking the whole society and raising various questions when highly educated persons, most enlightened and progressive section of people are doing those.

A nation’s mentality is moulded by its long-standing socio-economic circumstances and surroundings. Degenerate politics is responsible for a degenerate society. 

According to experts, none is assuring that criminals will get punishment. The culture of impunity has made a section of people insensitive, resulting in rising inhuman killings and getting encouraged. The society is passing through certain instability for a long time and tendency of committing crimes is increasing due to the absence of justice.

Culture of impunity is also a primarily cause of intolerance. Side-by-side, instability is breeding intolerance among people that is also responsible for committing heinous incidents. It is observed that those who are committing these incidents are not normal criminals like thieves or robbers. People are losing patience in every case and are committing heinous crimes.  

The culture of tolerance means to understand other people and social problems. But we have failed to realize the characters and values of others.

Bangalis as a nation had an image of being music-loving and peace-loving. But that image has now been called into a question, they are becoming impatient and are taking place heinous incidents one after another.

In recent years, drug addiction has significantly increased in our country. Hundreds of thousands of youths across Bangladesh are taking drugs on a large scale, sending our society on the verge of ruin.  

In the circumstances, law enforcing agencies must take steps so that no one holds the right to take the law into their own hands.  If anyone commits any crimes, then the person should be handed over to the law enforcers. Common people don’t have the right to take the law into your own hands.

Finally, the government and law enforcers must ensure rule of law, and all of us must be civilized and moral if we want to stop various heinous crimes.

The writer is a journalist