Dhaka University Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury was served legal notice for an opinion piece claiming that the piece was "inappropriate". This was condemned by the leftist organization Noyagonotantrik Gonomorcha.
The legal notice sent to Prof Serajul by one Md Mahbub Alam on August 16, demanded that Serajul apologise "publicly" for his literary opinion piece called "Rabindranath Keno Joruri (Why Rabindranath is Important) published in two bangla dailies, the Desh Rupantar and the Jugantor respectively on August 6 and 7.
Sending such a notice is an attack on freedom of expression and facilitates fundamentalism, says a press release signed by Zafar Hossain, president of Noyagonotantrik Gonomorcha.
"Our views about Rabindranath may differ from what Prof Serajul said. But his opinions often were for the people. We protest this conspiracy to terminate Serajul's pen," added the press release.
On Sunday, Prof Serajul responded to the legal notice through Supreme Court Advocate, Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, asking Mahboub's lawyer to withdraw the legal notice, according to other media reports.
"The published article reflects our client's (Prof Serajul) own opinions which derive from how he views the literature of Rabindranath. The right to express such views is guaranteed by the constitution and does not have anything that may offend others, wrote Joytirmoy responding to the legal notice.
"Your client (Mahboub) may be aware of the fact that our client is established in the field of Bangladesh literature and a delight to readers for his writings on literature, philosophy, and other topics, for over six decades," Joytirmoy added.