Musical event held at Dhaka University to protest attack on Qawwali programme

A group of students have organised a musical event at Dhaka University’s Teacher-Student Centre to protest against the attack on a Qawwali programme.

Besides ‘Silsila’, a Qawwali band of students of the university, other musicians of the institution performed at the programme on Thursday evening. 

Lutfor Rahman, a student of the Arabic department who founded the band, announced that they will perform Qawwali at the TSC every Thursday evening. Saleh Uddin Sifat, general secretary of the Dhaka University unit of Bangladesh Council to Protect General Students’ Rights, moderated the event.

At least eight people were injured in an attack on a Qawwali musical event at the same venue on Wednesday evening.

The organisers blamed Bangladesh Chhatra League for the attack, an allegation its leader Saddam Hussain denied.

Activists of the Council to Protect General Students’ Rights and several leftist student organisations marched on the campus on Thursday to protest against the attack.

“History says even Bangabandhu loved Qawwali. The people of Bangladesh were never against any language or culture, but repression,” said Fahim Shihab Reywaj, a leader Bangladesh Students’ Union, at a rally outside the proctor’s office after the march in the afternoon.

“The Pakistani rulers suppressed us in many ways from 1947 to 1971. The Awami League government is doing the same to us. As part of it, Chhatra League attacked our music.”

Bangladesh Chhatra Federation organised a rally at the altar of Raju Memorial Sculpture. “Chhatra League commits crimes every day. You’ll get the proof if you search it on Google. We are warning Chhatra League against any act of terrorism,” said the organisation’s President Golam Mostafa.