All of these values have been violated from the very beginning of the Awami era. In the last sixteen years of Hasina's rule, these violations have multiplied a hundredfold, turning into a full-fledged autocratic system. Yet, the blind eyes of the Awami intellectuals remain blind.

We have seen many intellectuals who are unwavering about the history and values of 1971. Yet, they have almost unconditionally supported Hasina's autocracy. When elections were held without votes, many of them argued that there is no alternative to Sheikh Hasina for Bangladesh. They considered siding with Hasina their duty. Some argued that there is no alternative to Hasina for maintaining secularism.

We saw in July 2024, when students and innocent people were being killed like birds at the hands of the security forces, almost every vice-chancellor of the country's major universities went to Ganabhaban to express their support for the measures taken by Prime Minister Hasina against the students and the public.

Many have privately acknowledged that democracy has been downgraded in Hasina's hands, or that the measures taken to stay in power are repressive. Yet, these conscientious intellectuals have considered Hasina and the Awami regime as the sole safeguards of the Liberation War. It's not that they were unaware of the contradiction involved. But after repeating the mantra for years, they themselves became lackeys of the autocracy.