National minority leaders, student leaders and cultural activists on Friday demanded exemplary punishment for those who were involved in recent attack on a demonstration by national minority students in front of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board Bhaban.
They also demanded constitutional recognition of national minorities and the re-inclusion of the graffiti carrying the word 鈥楢divasi鈥� in the back cover of the Bangla grammar book for the Classes of IX and X.
They raised the demands at a cultural protest programme, organised by Bangladesh Indigenous Artist Unity, at the base of Swoparjita Swadhinata on the Dhaka University campus.
Satej Chakma, former vice-president of Dhaka University Jhum Literature and Cultural Society, said that a week had already passed but police could not arrest the main accused.
鈥楾he government has arrested only two people, which is just eyewash,鈥� stated Satej demanding immediate arrest of all perpetrators and their exemplary punishment.
Bangladesh Adivasi Chatra-Sangram Parishad president Alik Mree said that struggle of the national minorities had a long history and their voices could not be made silent with attacks.
Alik demanded the re-inclusion of the graffiti and also constitutional recognition of national minorities.
Bithi Ghosh, singer of Samageet, said, 鈥楤angladesh is a land of plurality where dominance of one group will not be accepted.鈥櫬犅�
Singer Farzana Wahid Shayan sang her protest song titled Ami Bangali Upojati expressing solidarity with the cultural protest programme.
Santua Tripura, Adrita Chakma and others recited poems struggles of national minorities communities while musical band Madol, Red Twilight, Viento, Black Birds and others also performed at the event.聽聽聽
Earlier, the National Curriculum and Textbook Board removed the graffiti from the books following demands of Students for Sovereignty, an organisation claimed to be of Dhaka University students.
On January 15, the group attacked a demonstration of national minority students who were demanding re-inclusion of the graffiti in front of the NCTB Bhaban in the capital in police presence leaving more than a dozen injured.
On January 16, at least seven individuals, mostly students, were injured when the police swooped on a protest rally held in protest of the attack in the capital.
The police so far arrested only two with a case in this regard that was filed against 16 named and 200鈥�300 unnamed people in the attack on national minorities.
