Avijit Roy
Who was Avijit Roy?
Bangladeshi-American engineer and blogger who founded the Mukto-Mona rationalist blog promoting secular humanism and science. He was hacked to death in Dhaka in 2015 by Islamic extremists for his atheist writings.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Avijit Roy (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Avijit Roy was a Bangladeshi-American engineer, writer, and online activist known for his advocacy of secular humanism and rationalist thought in Bangladesh. Born on September 12, 1972, in Bangladesh, Roy studied engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and later moved to the United States. He worked as a biomedical engineer while also becoming a notable blogger and writer supporting scientific reasoning and free expression.
Roy started Mukto-Mona, an online blogging platform that became a hub for Bangladeshi freethinkers, rationalists, skeptics, atheists, and humanists. The platform was important for intellectual discussions and examining religious and social issues in Bengali society. Through his writings and blog, Roy questioned traditional religious beliefs and promoted evidence-based thinking, often tackling controversial subjects related to religion, science, and social progress.
Roy stood for free expression, organizing international protests against government censorship and the jailing of atheist bloggers in Bangladesh. His activism went beyond online efforts as he worked to defend the rights of writers and intellectuals persecuted for their secular views. Roy wrote several books and articles that criticized religious extremism and encouraged scientific literacy among Bengali readers.
On February 26, 2015, Roy was attacked by assailants armed with machetes while returning from a book fair in Dhaka with his wife, Bonya Ahmed, who was also seriously injured. The Islamic militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team claimed responsibility for his murder. Roy's killing was part of a wider wave of violence against secular bloggers and intellectuals in Bangladesh, emphasizing the risks faced by free thinkers in the area. His death drew international outrage and focused global attention on the persecution of secular voices in Bangladesh.
Before Fame
Roy grew up in Bangladesh during a time of political unrest and growing religious conservatism after the country's independence in 1971. He studied engineering at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, one of the top technical schools in the country. After graduating, Roy moved to the United States, where he worked as a biomedical engineer while staying connected to intellectual and social movements back home.
With the rise of the internet in the early 2000s, Roy found a way to reach Bengali-speaking audiences around the world. He saw online communities as a way to encourage rational discussion and challenge the traditional power structures that had long controlled Bangladeshi society. His engineering background equipped him with the technical skills to create and maintain online platforms, as well as a scientific viewpoint that shaped his approach to social and religious issues.
Key Achievements
- Founded and administered the Mukto-Mona rationalist blogging platform
- Authored multiple books promoting secular humanism and scientific thinking
- Coordinated international protests against censorship of atheist bloggers
- Established a significant online community for Bengali freethinkers and rationalists
- Became a leading voice for free expression rights in Bangladesh
Did You Know?
- 01.Roy was attacked while returning from the Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka, an annual celebration of Bengali literature and culture
- 02.His wife Bonya Ahmed survived the machete attack but lost her thumb and suffered severe head injuries
- 03.The Mukto-Mona blog he founded continues to operate after his death as a memorial to his work
- 04.Roy had received death threats prior to his visit to Bangladesh but chose to attend the book fair anyway
- 05.He was the first in a series of secular bloggers killed in Bangladesh between 2013 and 2016