The traditional colorful procession to celebrate Bengali new year organised by Dhaka University renamed as Barshabaran Ananda Shobhajatra addressed diverse political and cultural issues on Monday morning.
Dhaka University authorities renamed the traditional Mangal Shobhajatra as Barshabaran Ananda Shobhajatra for the Bengali new year 1432. The incident of renaming the Shobhajatra has set off controversies.
The Institute of Fine Art of DU first organised the Bengali New Year procession in 1989 as 鈥楢nanda Shobhajatra鈥�.
The next year, the name of the Bengali New Year procession was changed to 鈥楳angal Shobhajatra鈥� and the institute, which became a faculty of the university in 2008, has been organising the procession as Mangal Shobhajatra since 1990.
This year鈥檚 procession was led by cultural adviser Mostofa Sarower Farooki, DU vice-chancellor Niaz Ahmed Khan and dean of the FFA Azharul Islam Sheikh.
This year鈥檚 procession featured motifs depicting the spirit of the recent student-led mass uprising and the rich cultural elements of Bangladesh, including the culture of national minorities.
One of the motifs resembled the face of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina symbolising the face of fascism, and another motif resembled a dove representing peace.
A motif of watermelon also expressed solidarity with the Palestinians while people also carried flags and slogans addressing the genocide in Palestine.
Besides, a huge number of people also carried different placards addressing contemporary political and social issues and joined the procession, which paraded different streets on the campus.
Twenty-seven national minority communities displayed their cultural symbols at the procession, which also featured Old Dhaka鈥檚 symbol rickshaws and horse carts.聽
After the procession, DU vice-chancellor Niaz Ahmed Khan said that they were happy to complete the procession, which comprised different government and cultural organisations.聽
鈥榃e acknowledge the efforts of different security forces and volunteers for their participation in the procession to ensure security,鈥� said Niaz Ahmed.