A group of left-leaning students of Dhaka University staged a celebratory procession, dancing to the song titled Razakar Al-Badar Kichui Rabe Nare, on the Dhaka University campus on Friday. The procession began at the Teachers-Students Centre, led by a truck equipped with a music box, a day after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party won a decisive victory defeating Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections. It paraded through Jagannath Hall, VC Chatwar, Hall Para, Dhaka University Central Students’ Union and Madhu’s Canteen before concluding at the TSC.
Event organiser cultural activist Faria Motin Ilalala told New Age that although a significant number of people in the country voted for Jamaat, the majority of the country’s people still upheld the spirit of the War of Independence.
‘When we took these anti-razakar songs to the streets, we have witnessed public enthusiasm, which claim that people no longer care about the Liberation War are baseless,’ Faria noted.
Our existence is rooted in the Liberation War, she added, mentioning, ‘This programme does not support the BNP; rather, it has been organised to inform the next generation about the history of the Liberation War.’
She also said that their message to the BNP was that whatever role the party played in the coming days, they would remain prepared to criticise and protest any actions reminiscent of past governments.
Another organiser Anamul Hasan Onoy, a student of the political science department, said that anti-Bangladesh Jamaat forces had been attempting to revive their old anti-Liberation War politics over the past one and a half years ahead of the election.
‘We saw how recognised war criminals’ photos were displayed at the TSC and how they were being idealised. We witnessed their aggressiveness and rhetoric,’ he said.
He added that through the election, the country’s people had resisted anti-1971 forces. ‘Although Jamaat is now effectively in the opposition, it is an alarming matter for Bangladesh.’
As part of strengthening our stance against the anti-1971 agenda and preparing to consign them to their final political grave, we have staged this programme, he mentioned.Bangladesh cultural tours
