If you are living in Bangladesh and if you are not on Facebook, you probably have not heard about Wahiduzzaman Apollo. He is an unashamedly nationalist activist, aligned with BNP. What is different about him is that he is part of the new generation of activists who protect their party dogma through an exercise of intellect.

He is one of those who do not seek financial dividends in return for their activism.  Wahiduzzaman Apollo is not a single person.

A new Bangladesh is emerging in the online space where constantly, ideas are expressed, debated and challenged. For one Wahiduzzaman Apollo in support of the nationalist movement and BNP, there is another Doctor Aiju or Omi Pial in favour of Awami League and the Bengali nationalist movement, whose name you may not have heard either.

There are others, Baki Billah and Parvej Alam, who challenge the narratives of both Awami League and BNP, it is unlikely that you have heard their names either.

The mentioned few are all part of a new generation of online warriors who are trying to portray a new Bangladesh, that is, trying to break out of the shackles of the old, protected intellectual establishment, which is now settled in its comfort zone and is unable to add value to the dynamic narrative of the new Bangladesh that is emerging.

This is a genuine fight of the generation. A new war to be free, definitely not comparable with the liberation war that was fought in 1971 when 3 million lives were lost, but a fresh one to create a new, emancipated, open, and enlightened Bangladesh.

The new generation of online warriors operates in the space of Facebook, blogs and other online media. They have their own followers in tens and thousands, who subscribe to their views. They are constantly debating each other with their status updates and each of their words is tested in a space by their followers and opposition as the media allows each person to freely express their minds.

So, none can get away with an outright lie as each  word is validated by a huge group of people, who enjoy an absolute freedom of speech in this new medium.

In a country where all the traditional media has been captured by political elites and their business allies, people are fed with news and debate which eventually protects the standing of the establishment only.

So, Facebook, blogs and online spaces where the small debates

take place are the only free space left for people to express their mind. The freedom to write anything is the central tenet that fuels these debates and allows new ideas to flourish.

This freedom is now allowing a new narrative of a Bangladesh which is showing the way forward or building up a space which will show the way forward for the country.

The importance of these small debates cannot be undermined. The Shahbagh movement, which has fundamentally changed the country for better or worse, is a result of these debates on online space. Wahiduzzaman Apollo is one of the catalysts of this new wave.

The government and the current political establishment are aware of this impact. The latest ICT law which has provisions of seven years jail term without any bail was one of the tools that was thought out by the political establishment to control this space and curtail the freedom that is enjoyed by these new generation activists.

AKM Wahiduzzaman Apollo is the first victim of this law. A case was filed against him a few weeks back and later he was been put behind bars for his opinions. Wahiduzzaman Apollo is an imperfect man, he is also guilty of selective judgment. But, he has done nothing wrong other than to speak his mind. He has neither preached religious hatred nor did anything other than saying what is being said by most people: the corruption and the ill-doings of the government, and the evil nature of the leadership.

It is clear that the establishment which is now headed by the Awami League, wants to give a signal to the online community to curtail their thoughts and limit their speech and bully them to stop criticising the government.

The case filed against Wahiduzzaman Apollo is designed to silence him and other vocal activists. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that, when this establishment changes its leader and BNP comes to power, similar silencing will be carried out, as before. 

This makes AKM Wahiduzzaman one of the first victims of the new war to liberate Bangladesh. A war that is being fought to free Bangladesh from the old establishment which has captured all the power, assets, space and voice and the established narrative which does not state the real voices of people.

This is a fight between evil and the good, the establishment and not-haves, the new and old, the real and fake. This is the second liberation war that Bangladesh awaits, to free its people from the evil establishment that now controls everything. The arrest of Wahiduzzaman Apollo must be unequivocally condemned.

The old establishment is not aware that their days are numbered. They are not aware that an arrest of one Wahiduzzaman will give rise to 160 million Wahiduzzamans and the government cannot put them all behind bars. There are not enough seats in the jails of Bangladesh to arrest them all.

Wahiduzzaman Apollo must be freed immediately with an apology, or else this will snowball into something that the establishment will be totally unable to control.