- Students’ movement to save culture spreads across the country
- Government accused of bowing to Islamic fundamentalists by removing music and PT teachers in primary schools
- Bangladesh’s largest Islamic fundamentalist party demands referendum before next year’s elections
The government’s policy move has turned into a major movement in Bangladesh. Following this, students and teachers of leading universities in Bangladesh have taken to the streets against the Yunus government. They have described their movement against the government as a movement to save their culture, not a salary increase, which has spread across the country.
The Muhammad Yunus government has canceled the plan to appoint music and physical education teachers in primary schools. This has angered Bangladeshi youth. They have taken to the streets because of this, they say, the Bangladeshi government has bowed its knees to Islamic fundamentalists, who were demanding a ban on music and gymnastics. They said the government will never be able to remove music from the hearts of Bangladeshis. Bangladeshi student movements gathered outside Dhaka University under the Aparajeya Bangla statue, a symbol of the Bangla movement, singing the national anthem and songs of the 1971 liberation struggle. The students’ movement has spread across the country.
From Chittagong to Rajshahi, from Jagannath to Dhaka, university campuses in Bangladesh resonated with anti-ban slogans and songs. This movement is being led by students of arts and humanities. They demand that the appointment of music and PT teachers in schools be restored. Dhaka University’s theatre professor Israfil Shaheen, while addressing the students, said that culture should never be against religion. Our culture creates our national identity. Without it, education becomes hollow. Music teacher Azizur Rahman said that art is the foundation of civilization. However, the government has not bowed down to these protesters yet. Islamic parties supporting the government are demanding the appointment of religious teachers in place of these appointments.
While elections have been announced in Bangladesh next year, its largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, has strongly opposed holding elections in February. It has demanded a referendum to give legal basis to the proposed charter before the elections, saying that if this does not happen, the elections will not be held until then.
