Despite the widely-held non-agreement regarding the definition of such an overused but not-so-old word called 'intellectual', it is not difficult, I think, to map the overall role of the intellectuals in the society in any given context. This is common knowledge that they hail mostly from the middle class, though the upper class does not fail to produce one often, with the lower class lagging far behind. And according to Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, "All men are intellectuals, …: but not all men have in society the function of intellectuals."

As regards the point of mapping the roles of the intellectuals, it includes, a sheer understanding – be it through academic study or general experience, or both – of the world and society they live in and of the power relations, and, above all, the mettle to speak the truth looking in the eye of the authority staying conscientiously away from its gainful fold. And this reminds us of Edward Saïd who said that the "true intellectual is, therefore, always an outsider, living in self-imposed exile, and on the margins of society."

But "there's the rub". 

Many an intellectual does an injustice to their names, thus proving themselves to be pseudo-intellectuals, with all the gear and no integrity. In Bangladesh, the recently toppled regime witnessed quite an astonishing number of them who, paying lip service to their vocation, did a mockery of their roles enumerated by Edward Said. Giving no heed to the regime's misrule and crime spree and keeping mum about the excruciating sufferings of the common folks of the country, they just harped on the mantra of unnayon (development). In the name of Bengali Nationalism, the now-defunct regime practised othering, as a consequence of which a considerable number of people found themselves to be second rate citizens in their own land. Even a significant portion of Muslims were thought to be militants by the authority, and ostracized as an enemy of the people, while the conniving intellectuals looked on.

The July uprising this year tried to put an end to all this, a very ambitious aim though. With those pseudo-intellectuals of the bygone regime now sidelined and a few brought to book, the ones who kept raising their voices through their talks and writings during the last 15 years, braving innumerable odds, as well as the aspirant ones, have a long way to go. In a land that is afflicted with sores all over making it a whole-body problem, with not a single institution running properly, the "true intellectuals", it seems, need to push a huge boulder up a big mountain like mythical Sisyphus, but unlike him, can't afford to let it come down to the ground as happened many times before.

Intellectuals of our country should keep raising their voice against our starting from scratch again and again, help secure our achievements, and move forward in every sector of national efforts keeping aside factionist and personal gain. Like scientific research nowadays, intellectual activity also harvests best today when done in unison, as a group. Ideas spread quickly nowadays, and it is very easy to disseminate them, thanks to social media and modern technology. With their concerted efforts based on the priorities of the nation, namely rule of law under the aegis of a democratic government, top notch education, good governance, strong foreign policy, etc. the intellectuals need to remain alert so that the slacking in any of these areas is promptly protested by them and the dignity of an individual as a human being is never compromised.         

G H Habib is a Professor in the Department of English at Chittagong University