On the 35th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh it is worth asking where are we going, how far have we come, and what's next? Are we stalling, falling or just simply hurtling forth aimlessly? Whatever the country's failures or successes, there is no denying the central role played by intellectuals in shaping our culture and society and more importantly theirs have been a path fraught with challenge, tension and danger. It seems now that events of December 14, 1971, when an entire generation of progressive intellectuals-academics, artists, writers, journalists-were decimated in a particularly cold-blooded and premeditated act of targeted killings, were only foreshadowing the future. Since then, throughout Bangladesh's thirty-five year existence, progressive voices have come under continuous attacks; most recently there has been a spate of killings of University professors whereas others continue to live with constant death threats for no other reason but promoting a progressive, pluralistic, enlightened, secular and inclusive society.

Given the rise of extremist and parochially motivated incidents we feel this is an ideal time to reaffirm our faith in the intellectual heart and voice of country. We hope to do this by celebrating our history of progressive intellectual movements and by showcasing present voices, platforms, activists, artists, academics, writers who are both continuing that spirit and reinventing it. This will also be a chance to resist and oppose the use of violence, force or intimidation, by the state or nonstate groups, to promote exclusionary ideologies.

With the proposed event, the organizers hope to achieve three objectives: