More than a dozen, mostly students belonging to different national minority communities, were injured in an attack by another group of students in front of the NCTB Bhaban in the capital on Wednesday over claim and counterclaim on the inclusion of the word ‘Adivasi’ in the textbooks.
Those demonstrating under the banner of Students for Sovereignty, an organisation claimed to be of Dhaka University students, twice attacked the group protesting under the banner of Sangkhubdhho Adivasi Chhatra-Janata in police presence.
Recently the National Curriculum and Textbook Board removed a graffiti carrying the word Adivasi from the back cover of the Bangla grammar book for the Classes of IX and X, following demand from the Students for Sovereignty.
Sangkhubdhho Adivasi Chhatra-Janata (aggrieved indigenous student-people) issued a 24-hour ultimatum to arrest the attackers who demanded the removal of the word and announced to hold countrywide rallies today, protesting at the removal of the word.
Different student bodies and political organisations condemned the incident.
Among the injured were several female students including Dhaka University student and a member of the Students Against Discrimination central executive committee Rupaiya Shrestha Tanchangya and one journalist named Jewel Marak.
Many of them had head injuries.
As of 9:30pm on Wednesday, three seriously injured—Rupaiya, Jewel and Dhanjetra—were undergoing treatment at Bangladesh Specialised Hospital.
At about 11:30am on the day, several demonstrator under the banner of Students for Sovereignty took position in front of the NCTB building, demanding action against those, especially Rakhal Raha, for including the graffiti in the textbook, constitutional recognition of Bangalees as the only Adivasi, and announcing the use of Adivasi word as a seditious offence.
At the demonstration Class VI and VII students of Agaraon School were also present.
During the demonstrations, a strong police presence was seen at the spot.
Under the banner of the aggrieved indigenous students, demonstrators, mostly students of Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University, held a rally in front the Raju Memorial Sculpture on the Dhaka University campus at about 11:30am, protesting against the removal of the word Adivasi, and demanding constitutional recognition of Adivasi and inclusion of their history in the textbooks. Â
From there they marched to reach the NCTB office building about 12:45pm when the other group’s activists attacked them with cricket stumps. The police then intervened, making the two groups take position at opposite sides with themselves standing in between.
But at about 1:00pm the sovereignty activists attacked again the other group, following which 11 injured national minority activists were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.
Leaders of different political parties and human rights activists visited them at the hospital.
Alik Mree, one of the aggrieved Adivasi group’s organisers, said that 17 of them were injured.
The attack was pre-planned and the police just took the role of onlookers, he said.
If their demands were not meet, they would lay siege to the chief adviser’s official residence on January 17, Alik Mree said.
Sovereignty platform’s joint convener Md Yakub Majumder claimed that their 16 activists were injured in attacks by the ‘upojati’ people.
The police dispersed the protesters from the road at about 1:15pm.
Shops on the road were shut down and road communications were suspended for an hour.
Motijheel police officer-in-charge Mesbah Uddin said that they did not have the exact number of the injured and no case was filed till 7:00pm.
¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· correspondent in Dhaka University reported that the sovereignty group held a press briefing at the Dhaka University Journalist Association office, upholding their demands, while the Students Against Discrimination and Jatiya Nagorik Committee staged a protest rally on the campus for attack on students.
¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· Jahangirnagar University correspondent reported that a group of students held a protest on the campus, calling for immediate action against the attackers of the indigenous students.
In separate statements, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh, Ganosamhati Andolan, Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum, CHT Pahari Chhatra Parishad and 500 citizens condemned the attacks and demanded immediate legal action and re-inclusion of the graffiti.
Protesting at the attacks, Ganatantrik Odhikar Committee announced to hold a protest rally tomorrow.