Report in The daily star, June 04, 2017
The government is trying to establish Hefajat-e-Islam as a political force, alleged eminent theatre personality Ramendu Mazumder yesterday.
“If they [Hefajat] are given patronisation … if these people who are using religious cards are not resisted, we will dig our own graves,” he said, adding that cultural activists would not accept any political compromise with the fanatics.
He said this at a sit-in programme at Central Shaheed Minar in the capital. Sammilita Sangskritik Jote organised the two-hour programme with its President Golam Kuddus in the chair, with a call for upholding the spirit of Liberation War by standing against communal forces.
The cultural platform organised the programme at a time when the country went through some changes — dropping the writings of some progressive writers from the textbooks of primary and secondary levels allegedly following the demands of Hefajat and Bangladesh Awami Olema League, recognising Dawra degree of Qawmi madrasa as equivalent to master’s degree, and removing the statue of Lady Justice from in front of the main building of the Supreme Court amid pressure from the same groups.
Nasiruddin Yousuff, former president of the Jote, urged all cultural activists to be united against the communal forces.
Cultural activists also castigated the government alleging that it was bowing down to force like Hefajat and urged all non-communal forces to be united to build Bangladesh in line with the spirit of the Liberation War.
Noted theatre personality Mamunur Rashid, Jote’s General Secretary Hasan Arif, artiste of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra Ashraful Alam, Prof Muhammad Samad, and Mannan Hira, among others, spoke. They also protested the attacks on indigenous people in Rangamati’s Longodu on Friday.
Hasan Arif said they will hold National Cultural Convention on July 22 in Dhaka to finalise next course of action. Before the national convention, they will hold divisional representative conferences. http://www.thedailystar.net/city/govt-wants-hefajat-political-force-1415233
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