Choudhury offered a stark diagnosis of the present. Bangladesh, he said, is moving away from the spirit of the martyred intellectuals for two reasons: a shrinking practice of history and its growing distortion; and a widening distance from the dreams and consciousness of the Liberation War.

His work does not merely interpret the world; it is involved in the struggle to change it.

The forum was held at Bangladesh Shishu Academy and was anchored by Professor Azfar Hussain.

Much like during the colonial era, a segment of wealthy individuals in independent and sovereign Bangladesh continues to exhibit the same exploitative characteristics while ruling the country, said Prof Serajul Islam Choudhury yesterday.