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“The Awami League government used to determine everything in the past. This time, things are different,” says a member of the hill tribe community
Published : 14 Apr 2025, 03:18 PM
Walking out of the Faculty of Fine Arts, also known as Charukola, a group of young artistes strummed their guitars and united their voices in symphonic hill songs.
Having joined the Barshabaran Ananda Shobhajatra, these children from the hills said they were attending to represent their culture in the mass celebrations on Monday.
One of them, Duchango Tanchanga said: “We, the people of the hills, didn’t get the opportunity to represent our culture before. We’ve always been deprived.
“The Awami League government used to determine everything in the past. This time, things are different. We’re welcoming the Noboborsho [new year] through our culture, in our way.”
People from different walks of life participated in the Pohela Boishakh parade, some with words of protest, including “Give workers their dues”, “Cancel all unfair agreements with India”, “When will the July massacre trials commence?”, and “Free Palestine”.
Several people in the procession said their only hope for the new year was the end of “fascism” and that workers receive their dues.
A student of Dhaka University, Nazmun Nazar said: “India kills us with water, kills people on the borders. They are responsible for causing chaos in our country at different times. We don’t want this anymore, no more unequal agreements with them.”
On a different note, Sourav Das called for an end to animal abuse.
“In Bangladesh, it has become a trend to torture animals. I demand a stop to this in the new year.”
Charukola Assistant Professor Israfil Ratan said, “Our arrangement aims to make the Noboborsho more lively and festive. The satisfaction of the people makes us happy.”
He said the procession featured a horse carriage. “We have brought the horses and horse-drawn carriages to welcome the new year with vibrancy and uniqueness."
The joyous crowd participated in the Ananda Shobhajatra with the resolution to bring “New Year’s Harmony, Fascism’s End”.
The public relations office of the university said people of 28 ethnic groups, different government and private educational institutions, and social and cultural organisations, alongside foreigners, participated in the celebration rally.
Farhana Farul, who took part in the procession, said: “I’ve been observing the new year at Dhaka University for the past few years. But the arrangement this year has amazed me.”
“Nothing artificial is being staged just to show off. It’s like everyone is celebrating a joyous occasion.”
Mousumi Chakma from Rangamati said, “We’ve been invited to the new year [celebrations] for the first time and we’ve been able to represent our culture. This time we can see that the new year belongs to everyone.”
Israfil said, “This is the first such event at Charukola, nothing like this has happened before. Before this, it was promoted as a Bengali celebration.”
“This time we’re calling it a festival for Bangladeshis and have invited people from 28 different ethnicities for the first time. We’ve welcomed them as guests should be welcomed.”
