Shoes hurled at photos of artists in DU over mourning Bangabandhu’s assassination

A group leader alleges the artists have been paid by the Awami League to promote the party

Shoes have been hurled at photographs of artists and journalists who expressed grief and paid tribute to Bangladesh’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his the death anniversary on Aug 15.

The shoe-hurling even took place on Saturday at Dhaka University's Teacher-Student Centre (TSC), arranged by the Revolutionary Student Council, a group formed after the July Uprising.

A large red banner featured photographs of singers George Lincoln D'Costa, Rahul Ananda, cricketer Shakib Al Hasan, actors Shakib Khan, Chanchal Chowdhury, Meher Afroz Shaon, Shomi Kaiser, Aruna Biswas, Sazu Khadem, Mumtahina Toya, Peya Jannatul, Arsh Khan, Sunerah Binte Kamal, Farabi Hafiz, Khairul Bashar, Irfan Sajjad, Zaher Alvi, Saifuddin Siam, Parsa, Mehzabien Chowdhury and others.

The banner read: “Boycott cultural ‘fascists’.”

Abdul Wahed, convenor of the Revolutionary Student Council, said: “[On Friday] we saw so-called celebrities descend into mourning and eulogies for Mujib in an attempt to ‘normalise’ the Awami League. Yet on the 15th of August 2024 they did not utter a word because by then Mujib’s daughter Hasina had already fled.”

“That day marked the end of the Awami League. Now they are using Mujib as a shield to restore the Awami League, though it was Mujib himself who established ‘fascism’.

He continued: “There is no such thing as a ‘good Mujib’. Without killing him, today’s democratic Bangladesh would not have been possible.”

He also alleged that “cultural fascists” have been paid by the Awami League to promote the political party.

“Since the government did not take any steps in the past year, they had the audacity to show grief this time,” Wahed said.