I am neither a poet, nor a writer, yet I am unable to have a good night's sleep, since I watched a blood-soaked Prof. Azad, being carried by police officers on TV Friday night.

How long will it take before I join the countless bodies lying in the streets of Bangladesh?

Although the law and order has deteriorated, the attack on Dr. Humayun Azad was unbelievable to many of us. He is neither a politician nor a businessman who might have political or business rivals. The whole nation was deeply shocked and dismayed.

The shock and dismay was reflected in the protest rallies and statements of different cultural, student and political organisations. All major political parties including the ruling BNP and Jamaat, opposition Awami League and the leftists condemned the attack and demanded exemplary punishment to the attackers.

However, our politicians and intellectuals again demonstrated their inability to rise above party politics. The prime minister directly blamed the Awami League for the attack. The Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, student wing of the BNP, brought out a procession against the 'Awami attack on Humayun Azad'.

Although the prime minister and the JCD may have a point because a leader of the Chhatra League, the student wing of the Awami League, was arrested based on the evidence of two eye-witnesses, such an open allegation was unexpected. It may influence the investigation.

On the other hand, the Awami League and some intellectuals promptly accused their political and ideological rivals, the fundamentalists, for the attack. They had a point since one of Humayun Azad's book published several months back had irked the fundamentalists and they condemned some statements of the book in public meetings. However, condemning something in a democratic way and stabbing someone is not the same thing.

Such politically motivated allegations and counter-allegations always hide the real culprits. We do not wait for the judgement or inquiry. Everyone tries to get some instant benefit. No one was punished for bombing in Ramna and all such incidents. We are so interested in instant gains that we forget about the judgement. It certainly contributes to the deterioration of law and order in the country.

There has been an indefinite strike in the university since the incident. Why strike? Will it help Dr. Azad or will it punish the attackers?

Imtiaz Ahmed, On e-mail

I am shocked and ashamed of watching the photo of profusely bleeding Humayun Azad Sir in the newspapers on the net.

Azad Sir, a prominent and leading writer of our country, was stabbed in Boimela (book fair). No words are sufficient to express my emotion against this brutal attack on such a great man of the country. It is a shame for the nation that the life of an intellectual is not safe, and there is no freedom of thinking.

The news spread within a few seconds through the net. It let us, who live abroad, down in front of the foreigners. It showed our intolerance to other individual's thoughts and views.

I strongly protest this attack. I hope that the government would take immediate action against the assailants. At the same time, I strongly demand that the government take necessary steps for the security of the writers, especially for those who are writing against Pakistan and its Bangladeshi collaborators, and the journalists who are being targeted by the terrorists throughout the country.

I pray to Allah to give a new lease of life to Humayun Azad Sir.

Dr. Akhter Hossain, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Joseph Fourier University, France

I protest the dastardly attack on Dr. Humayun Azad. The attack was a heinous crime. Dr. Azad is among the foremost exponents of secular humanism in the country, and a fearless critic of obscurantism and dogma. The cowardly attack that inflicted grievous injuries on his person was also an attack on his ideals.

We are told by the authorities what has become a stock response to crime: the police do not know who are behind the attack. But this cannot be entirely true. Those who bear the ultimate responsibility for the attack are well-known. For months, Dr. Azad was threatened by fanatic militants and anti-liberation forces. He has been threatened in parliament. He has been attacked in public speeches by militant groups.

The attack is yet another wake-up call to all those secularists in the country who are still in slumber. Meanwhile, I wish the foremost secularist of the country a speedy recovery. Many have called him too outspoken. We need more of his outspokenness now than ever before.

Mahfuzur Rahman, On e-mail

After his book Pak sar zamin sad bad was published in November, Humayoun Azad was threatened by the fundamentalists, specially by the Jamaat followers. They also demanded a ban on the book. One of the fundamentalist groups clearly demanded his arrest and trial. But at that time our government did not take any action against them.

We heard from the law enforcers and the government before Ekushey Boi Mela began that they had taken all the necessary security steps and that the place was safe. But what have we seen?

Mamunur Rashid, Premier Cement, Dhaka

I strongly condemn the brutal attack on leading writer Dr. Humayun Azad. Whoever has done this should be arrested and punished . This was surely an act of cowardice. If a reputed writer of the country is not safe, then what about the ordinary citizens?

The attack on Dr. Humayun Azad was definitely a slap on our culture. I wonder whether politics played a role behind this attack. Was this an attack carried out to embarrass the government? Or was there something else that we, the ordinary citizens, will never know?

Minhaj Ahmed, Uttara, Dhaka

The brutal and gruesome attack on prominent writer Dr. Humayun Azad should remind us of the level of insecurity with which people are living in Bangladesh. The fact that the miscreants attacked one of the most prominent writers of the country in such a daring way is a clear indication that lawlessness has become acute.

The problem lies with the fact that there is a hype that we should forget our past. It is wrong. The attack on Dr. Azad bears all the hall-marks of the attacks of fundamentalists who killed our brightest sons on the night of December 14, 1971. People who are advocating to forget the past do not realise that there are always lessons to be learnt from the past. One lesson that we have not learnt from the past is that no one should trust betrayers and killers! People who betray with their motherland can betray with anyone.

Muktadir S. Hossain, The University of Tokyo, Japan

Dr. Humayun Azad, a noted writer and linguist, was attacked on Feb 27 near Bangla Academy. The attack on Dr. Azad was macabre, to say the least.

As a teacher he is unrivalled, as a writer he is a staunch humanist, as a person he is very simple and frank. The attack is a blow to the image of our country.

Molla Mohammad Shaheen, Dept of English, Dhaka University

First of all, I would like to condemn the barbaric act of terrorism by the extremist forces in our country who tried to assassinate the liberal, free-thinking professor and one of the country's leading intellectuals, Dr. Humayun Azad, in the Bangla Academy vicinity.

The attackers must be punished and the government should also take action against the religious extremists who are gaining clout day by , as a result of the " capitulation" by the government.

Aranya Syed Dhaka, Bangladesh

We are deeply shocked at the heinous attack on Dr. Humayun Azad and are praying for his speedy recovery. We are perplexed. Who could be behind this attack and what could be their motive?

As usual, the government and the opposition are blaming each other, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has said that the Awami League did it to create an issue. And the Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina is saying that the ruling alliance was behind the attack.

The government is now in a very uncomfortable position as law and order has deteriorated considerably. The government must act fast, direct all its efforts towards nabbing the criminals and give them exemplary punishment which they deserve.

Nur Jahan, SS Khaled Road, Ctg

Sadly enough, the attack on Dr. Azad has become a political issue which the two major parties are trying to exploit. Prof. Azad almost never wrote about politics in his books. I know him by reading some of his books as a former student of Dhaka University.

I am sure the professor himself will be greatly embarrassed by the way the attack on him has been politicised.

Md. Zillur Rahaman, Gandaria, Dhaka

It seems that the cowardly and vicious attack on the life of Prof. Humayun Azad was the "last straw on the camel's back". Neither the government nor the opposition can now turn back from their respective stands.

For the millions of Bengalees, there is no option but to suffer through the consequences that surely will follow this grave crisis.

May God help us.

Fayaz Khan, Joar Sahara, Dhaka Cantt

I am really shocked to find out that an eminent person of the calibre and stature of Dr. Humayun Azad could be assaulted and injured critically in such a manner. I feel sick to my stomach to imagine that our beloved country could come to such a sorry state that no one is presumably safe from the dirty clutches of mischievous minds hell-bent on realising their nasty designs by any means. This incident should not, however , be viewed in isolation of the overall situation obtaining in the country - a gradual but irreversible regression to complete lawlessness and anarchy. But, it will be reckless to blame a certain group of people without putting into perspective the cumulative effect of other interconnected issues - political unrest and corruption being the prominent ones. It will be highly quixotic if we believe that the problem could be resolved through an absolutely partisan and biased blame-game and weird theories. No one will be benefited if we try to play to the gallery.

In any case, at the end of the day, it is the government who is constitutionally bound to protect and provide a safe environment for its people and it should bear all the responsibility for anything less. They should pull together and employ all the means at their disposal to accomplish this. Our opposition political parties should also extend all-out and unconditional support to the government in this critical juncture.

Our people expect no less from them. Only through a constructive and collective effort by both the government and the opposition parties, we could think of extricating ourselves from this mess. They know what they should do. Let's hope that they understand this and come together setting aside their trivial differences for a greater good.

Ariff, Australia

A prominent linguist and writer of contemporary Bangla language, Dr. Humayun Azad, has been fighting for life lying in a hospital bed. It's very unfortunate to see that a writer of his calibre has been attacked for expressing his thoughts.

We pray for his early recovery and hope that the culprits will be brought to book. We hope a versatile writer like Dr. Azad will soon be back to the place that he belongs to.

Shams Md. Nabed Noman, On e-mail

My family and I wish to express our sympathy -- through your newspaper-- with the family of Dr Azad and the nation for the grievous injuries suffered by him. We pray for his quick recovery.

We also condemn the attackers for this dastardly attempt on the life of one of our most illustrious scholars who writes against religious bigots.

S Chowdhury, UK