Bangladesh Islamic groups obstruct cultural festival

"In Madhupur of Tangail district, the commemoration of Lalon was cancelled due to the objection of Hefazat-e-Islam, Bangladesh's largest Islamic group. The festival was scheduled to be held at Madhupur Upazila Bus Stand area from 8 pm on Wednesday. Madhupur Lalon Sangha organized the cultural festival to celebrate the 134th death anniversary of Fakir Lalon Saiji," Samakal, a Bengali-language daily newspaper published in Dhaka, reported.

"Lalon Festivals were held several times earlier without any hindrance, but this time committee canceled the event in the obstructions. In the afternoon, they expressed regret for cancelling the event due to unavoidable circumstances," Samakal reported.

Bibartan Cultural Centre, a cultural group, also condemned the incident.

"We strongly condemn this incident. Hefajat Islam and Ulama Parishad (Madhupur branch) these two Islamic parties will not allow 'false ideology to propagate' in Madhupur. The organizers of the event had promised that there would be no discussion of Lalan's ideology for the sake of the event, but they did not keep it," Mofijur Rahman Laltu, General Secretary of Bibartan Cultural Centre, said in a statement.

"Since the fall of the fascist Hasina government on August 5, attacks on shrines, removal of tribal graffiti from textbooks, barring of 'Tawhidi Janata' banners in women's football matches, attacks by communal groups on book fair stalls, have resulted in the suspension of this cherished commemoration today. However, there is no sign of the interim government bringing those responsible for these attacks to justice," the statement added.

Lalon, also known as Lalon Shah, Lalon Fakir, Shahji, was a Bengali spiritual leader, philosopher, mystic poet and social reformer. Regarded as an icon of Bengali culture, he inspired and influenced many philosophers, poets and social thinkers including Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and Allen Ginsberg. Lalon's philosophy of humanity rejects all distinctions of caste, class, and creed and takes stand against theological conflicts and racism. It denies all worldly affairs in search of the soul and embodied the socially transformative role of sub-continental Bhakti and Sufism.

Earlier on Monday, a group of madrasa students had attacked a stall at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka over the display of book written by Taslima Nasreen, who is in exile in India as per police and eyewitness' accounts.

Chief Adviser of the Interim Government in Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, had strongly denounced the mob attack on the Amar Ekushey Book Fair in Dhaka, and said that the attack shows "contempt" for both the "rights of Bangladeshi citizens and for the laws of our country."

"The Chief Adviser strongly condemns the mob attack on a bookstall at Ekushey Book Fair. The attack shows contempt for both the rights of Bangladeshi citizens and for the laws of our country," the Chief Advisor's office said in a statement.

"Such violence betrays the open-minded spirit of this great Bangladeshi cultural fixture, which commemorates the language martyrs who lost their lives on February 21, 1952 in defence of their mother tongue. Today, the Ekushey Boimela (Ekushey Book Fair) is a daily meeting place for our writers and readers," the statement added.

The interim government had instructed police and the Bangla Academy to probe the incident and has directed security agencies to take "strong measures" to stop "any incidents of mob violence" in the country."

The interim government has ordered police and the Bangla Academy to investigate the incident and bring the culprits to book. Police have been ordered to step up security in the fair and make sure no untoward incidents take place in this very important space. The government has also ordered the concerned security agencies to take strong measures to stop any incidents of mob violence in the country," the Chief Advisor's office said in a statement. (ANI)