When mobs decide who can speak, what happens to democracy?

The night The Daily Star building was set on fire by mobs incited by known right-wing political figures and social media influencers, at least 28 journalists and staff were trapped on the rooftop.

- BY ASIF BIN ALI

One of them wrote on Facebook: "I cannot breathe." Anyone who has worked in a newsroom in Dhaka can imagine the scene—smoke filling the corridors, shouting from below, the sound of glass breaking, and the quiet panic of not knowing whether the stairs are still safe. Now add one very typical Dhaka detail. In many buildings, the rooftop door is often kept locked. If that had been the case that evening, we would probably not be discussing a Facebook status. We would be talking about bodies.

I cannot remember any other moment in our 54 years of independence when, at a time officially described as "peaceful," so many journalists came this close to being burned alive or mortally wounded inside their own office. This was not a protest that went a little too far. The way the fire was set and the way some people tried to block the fire service from reaching the building make it hard to escape one conclusion: someone deliberately wanted the journalists to suffer, or worse.

What makes this episode even more disturbing is that the attackers did not know the people they were trying to burn. They had no personal quarrel with a particular reporter or editor. In many cases, they probably never noticed the bylines of those trapped on the rooftop. Their real target was not individuals; it was two institutions: The Daily Star and Prothom Alo. For months, parts of our public conversation have described these newspapers and some cultural centres as "anti-national," "foreign agents," or "serving Indian interests." These are serious accusations, yet they are usually made without evidence. Still, they are repeated on TV talk shows, at rallies, and on Facebook Live videos. Gradually, a picture emerges in which certain media houses are no longer seen as legitimate subjects of criticism, but as enemies.