This is no way to protest

Even on a good day, the traffic in Dhaka city is a source of grief for commuters. This tends to go out of hand when there is a political demonstration, or when VIP movement shuts off access to major roads and thoroughfares of the city. Wednesday’s protests were an egregious example of what happens when protests take place with no civic considerations, and ignore not just the rules of roads, but the rules of human decency. Hundreds of demonstrators -- members of the Islamic movement known as Tabligh Jamaat -- along with some Qawmi madrassa clerics, positioned themselves near the airport bus stand around 10am, bringing traffic on airport road to a halt. This course of action on part of the demonstrators caused inestimable suffering upon ordinary citizens who need to commute to make a living, not to mention travellers to and from the airport. People were seen getting off their vehicles and walking, as buses remained stranded on the highway for hours -- effects of the traffic gridlock even spread over to residential parts of Uttara. Demonstrations are usually held with some political goal in mind, and if the goal of this group was to inconvenience ordinary, hardworking Bangladeshis, not to mention those in more life-threatening conditions, then sadly, the group has succeeded. But in doing so, the group has lost any moral high ground when it comes to their argument that Indian preacher Maulana Muhammad Saad Kandhalvi  should not be allowed to enter Bangladesh to attend Biswa Ijtema. We hope that in the future, demonstrations of this nature will not be allowed, and any grievances will be addressed through civil discussions -- not through bringing the city to a standstill.