‘Unity of July Movement must be preserved’
Staff Reporter :
Former Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Professor Dr Anwarullah Chowdhury on Saturday said the July uprising that overthrew the worst dictatorship in history must preserve the unity.
Through holding elections in that spirit, a prosperous and democratic Bangladesh must be built.
The July Movement will succeed only when a people’s government is established. Alongside political struggle, the cultural movement must also succeed. Only through a cultural revolution can we achieve our goals.
He said teachers and journalists should not engage in partisan servitude. The job of teachers is to disseminate knowledge; the job of journalists is to present unbiased news. It is shameful for anyone to become a teacher or hold a position through party loyalty.
So many reform commissions were formed, yet not a single education commission. Dr Kudrat-e-Khuda’s education commission produced an excellent report, but not a single line of it has been implemented. Over fifteen years of misrule, the education system had been completely destroyed.
Dr Anwarullah Chowdhury made these remarks at a discussion titled “National Unity in Election Challenges: Reflections of Cultural Activists,” organised by the National Literary-Cultural Unity Council at the Moulana Akram Khan Auditorium of the National Press Club.
The meeting was presided over by cultural figure Rezabuddoula Chowdhury.
Speakers included writer and social thinker Syed Tosharaf Ali, language movement veteran Dr Muhammad Siddiq, theatre personality Babul Ahmed, rhyme-writer Abu Saleh, Atish Dipankar University Chairman Shamsul Alam Liton, poet and journalist Shamima Chowdhury, Secretary General of the Nationalist Cultural Alliance Rafiqul Islam, poet Mahmudul Hasan Nizami, poet Mahbub Mukul, Sareng editor Abdur Rahman Mallik, writer Emdadul Haque Chowdhury, poet Shah Siddiq, among others. The event was moderated by Advocate ABM Jahangir Hossain Sohag and Nur Hossain Rana.
Special guest Syed Tosharaf Ali said that after the fall of Hasina’s government, the interim government backed by bureaucrats, the army, and the wealthy-business classes are running. Journalism has lost its neutrality due to partisanship. Education has lost its quality. Nation is facing cultural hegemony. Common people are hard hit by price hike.
In spite of all these crises, the country will one day emerge with prosperity. Eighteen crore people cannot be defeated.
Rezabuddoula Chowdhury said our children competed in sacrificing their blood for the July Movement. We cannot let that sacrifice go in vain. Today, alongside political movements, cultural movements are not taking place. Through JASAS, a cultural movement had begun, but we could not maintain that continuity. We must restore that continuity. A cultural revolution must be carried out. Cultural aggression had trampled our cultural identity-therefore, cultural workers must build national unity.
The event concluded with a special prayer and munajat for the recovery of Begum Khaleda Zia.
