Talking to The Daily Star, several renowned litterateurs denounced the attack as a symbolic threat to all progressive people opposed to fundamentalism.

"It is a most unfortunate incident," said former chief of the caretaker government and former chief justice Habibur Rahman. Rahman, who is also a writer, poet and researcher of Tagore songs, expressed his sympathy to Azad's family.

Poet Shamshur Rahman himself narrowly escaped an attempt on his life by a group of Harkatul Jihad activists in January 2000. "You can kill a person, but not his ideals. There may be opposition to a writer's views, but killing is not the way to do it," said the veteran poet.

"It has become a trend in our country to attack writers in such a way. This not only affects the writers but all like-minded people across the country, thus spreading a sense of insecurity. It's the state's responsibility to ensure our security. The attackers must be tried to ensure that such attacks are not repeated," he added.

Writer Professor Serajul Islam Chowdhury termed the attack an assault and threat on the freedom of expression. "We now know we don't have freedom of expression in Bangladesh. This incident proves it is dangerous to hold on to one's views and express them freely."

"It is shameful for our country that we can not resist such attacks. Primarily this is a shame for the government. The civil society is also failing to put pressure on the government to effectively deal with these attacks," Chowdhury pointed out.

He added: "I don't believe this attack was due to personal enmity. Rather, it is about his writing that criticises fundamentalists. The fundamentalists have spoken against him publicly, giving us an idea about the identity of his enemies."

Versatile writer Syed Shamsul Haq observed, "This is not an isolated incident. This is an intense manifestation of the situation prevailing in the country. This attack is not only against an individual writer but all pro-people voice."

Haq said the attack was clearly the work of militant groups and held the government responsible for letting it happen. "Azad's writings exposed their masks. Those who write like him feel insecure. But we are not afraid of the militants."

Poet Mahadev Saha said, "We are certainly feeling insecure and this concerns every citizen. It shows none of us is safe from the militants." He added the attack symbolises assault on freedom of thought and is part of the plan to destroy the secular spirit of the War of Liberation.

Writer Shahriar Kabir said, "Those who write against the fundamentalists are being attacked. There was an attack on Shamshur Rahman and myself (in August 2000) and the car of Muntasir Mamun was ransacked (in 2000). In the past, Ahmed Sharif, Sufia Kamal and Jahanara Imam were declared apostates by fundamentalists. Declaring someone an apostate means that the person can be killed (by fundamentalists). When they make such announcements, it encourages their workers to attack and kill."

"Those who instigate these attacks are not punished or challenged by the state," he added. "I feel very insecure. This is why I did not visit the Ekushey Boi Mela this year," Kabir pointed out.

Writer-columnist Muntasir Mamun said, "We receive telephonic threats every now and then. But now after such an attack on Humayun Azad, it is clear these threats are for real. None of us is safe. None should think that these militants will stop after killing a few writers. They will continue their killing spree."

"None should think their silence will save them from attack. We have seen that during the 1971 War of Liberation fundamentalists killed even those intellectuals who kept silent."

He urged the government to seriously deal with the issue right now before it gets out of hand.