What is "Inqilab" the trending word in BD politics!

"Making a fool of oneself leads to trouble. Words, symbols, these have no inherent value. It is people who make words great, and it is people who pollute them. In movies, the 'villain' is a very bad character, but 'villain' was not always a bad word. Common farmers and workers were once called 'villains.' In Latin, it was 'villanus.' In the Middle Ages, at one point, the power was in the hands of the 'villains,' meaning the poor class. People saw that the poor 'villains' as rulers were extremely bad. They were ruthless oppressors. From then on, 'villain' became a negative word. The swastika was once a very good symbol in India. It is an ancient symbol, over 7,000 years old. But after falling into Hitler's hands, it became associated with the Nazi symbol. 'Propaganda' was not a bad word; many countries had 'Propaganda Ministries.' People would get essential health information, weather updates, and such through the Propaganda Ministry. The job of propaganda was to spread true and necessary information. But after falling into Goebbels' trap, the word became stigmatized. Now, 'propagandist' is an insult. The word 'notorious' in English once referred to famous individuals. Now it refers to bad people.

'Inquilab' has met the same fate. The great leaders like Hasrat Mohani, Bhagat Singh, Nehru, Maulana Azad, who used 'Inquilab' for noble purposes, no longer hold that meaning. In the Bengali language, it has now fallen into the hands of an ultra-reactionary group and has lost its dignity terribly. A specific group has now adopted the slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad' for their own purposes. I understand their intentions, and that's why I stand against it. Those who have hijacked the will of the common people, under the guise of secretive and hidden power, are using this as a new trick, a new strategy.

'Inquilab' is not a bad word in itself. Its root is the Arabic word Qaf-Lam-Ba, which means change, overturn, transformation, or going back to the previous state. I found the word in the Quran as well, possibly in Surah Imran, with the word 'Yankalib,' which means apostasy, i.e., leaving the faith. In the time of the Prophet, those who left Islam were called 'Inquilabi,' meaning they revolted against Islam! This was how 'Inquilab' was used in the time of the Prophet!

It is not my saying, even Allah used the word 'Inquilab' in this context! I have forgotten the exact verse, but it is something like 'Wa ma yankalib ala aqibaihi fa la,' which implies, after the Prophet’s death, will you return to apostasy and become disbelievers again?

Now, the religiously cunning people are calling the people's 'government downfall' an 'Inquilab.' They are ashamed to say 'Pakistan Zindabad,' 'Middle East Zindabad,' so they are fulfilling their alternative desire by shouting 'Inquilab Zindabad.' They are challenging 'Bangladesh Zindabad.'

A few days ago, two Hafiz and Mufti of the Quran left Islam and became disbelievers. Will they now shout the 'Inquilab Zindabad' slogan, in accordance with the Quranic verse? Allah used the term 'Inquilab' in their case. That is the real meaning of Inquilab – leaving Islam and becoming a disbeliever. Will the people of Tawhid accept this?"

Stability hangs in balance in Bangladesh as mob violence rises under the interim govt.

Mob justice claims 82 lives under Yunus-led interim government; while political reprisals are being disguised as justice, Bangladesh has seen a sharp decline in extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances

Growing unease in the city amid crime spree

 Dhaka residents spent a frightful night yesterday as multiple incidents of muggings took place across different parts of the capital in a short span of time.

A sense of insecurity has been prevailing among people amid a spate of crimes, as reported by various media outlets over the last few days.

"What exactly are you [government] doing?"

"Muggings continue to go up and no one is taking action," said another.

Comments like these flooded Facebook last night.

The videos show groups of people, mostly on motorcycles, intercept individuals in dark alleys and attack them indiscriminately, snatching their belongings and then fleeing.

Meanwhile, several hundred protesters gathered at Dhaka University around 1:00am today, demanding immediate resignation of the home adviser for what they said were his inaction and failure to curb crimes.

The Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury in a hurriedly called press conference at three in the morning blamed cohorts of the Awami League for deteriorating law and order. 

The government launched "Operation Devil Hunt" on February 8 to restore law and order, but there has been little reflection on the ground.

Against this backdrop, students across the country took to the streets yesterday, outraged by the "government's inaction" amid a series of incidents of rape and sexual violence against women and children.

Nazmul Limon, an undergraduate student of anthropology at Jahangirnagar University, said at a demonstration, "The government must ensure public safety and good governance. If the home affairs adviser cannot protect people's lives and property, he should quit. Otherwise, we will make sure that he does."

Shatabdeeka Urmi, a student of Bangla at Jagannath University, said, "Every morning, I wake up and see news of rape, robbery, and murder that make me feel unsafe as a citizen…. If the government fails, it should admit its incompetence and step down."

At least four incidents of muggings, robberies and attempted rape took place yesterday.

In Rampura, armed robbers shot a man before snatching a bag containing gold ornaments and cash in the capital's Rampura.

The incident took place around 10:30pm on Road 7, Block D, in Banasree.

The victim, Anwar Hossain, 43, is a jewellery shop owner, police said, adding that he was carrying 200 bhori of gold ornaments and Tk 1 lakh in cash.

Ataur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Rampura Police Station, said Anwar was attacked in front of his house when he was returning home from his shop.

Shot in both legs, he was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the OC said.

Anwar Hossain told reporters at Dhaka Medical College Hospital that seven armed robbers on three motorcycles stopped him and tried to snatch his bag. When he resisted, one of the robbers shot him and fled with the bag on their bikes.

Police are trying to identify and arrest the criminals, the OC added.

In Dhanmondi's Shankar, panic spread around 7:00pm when 12-15 "unidentified men" were spotted near Shankar Ali Hussain High School, said Saiful Islam, OC of Hazaribagh Police Station.

They came from Mohammadpur, said Hazaribagh OC Saiful Islam.

At that time, a muezzin alerted locals of an approaching "kishore gang" using a mosque's loudspeaker. The muezzin claimed the gang members were carrying locally-made weapons.

As the information spread, the youths fled before police arrived at the spot, said the officer.

Two days ago, community leaders in Shankar decided to alert residents whenever any teen gangs would come to the area.

In Ashulia, TV actor Azizur Rahman Azad got shot while his mother and wife were injured in an attack by unidentified men at his residence, said the family members.

Azad's elder sister Afrina Akhter said around 2:45am, Azad heard some unusual sounds from the kitchen on the first floor. When he went there, three unidentified miscreants opened fire at him. Three bullets hit Azad's legs.

"Hearing the gunfire, my mother and Azad's wife rushed to the kitchen, the criminals beat them up too, fired 10-15 blanks, and fled the scene without looting anything," she also said.

The victims were later admitted to a private hospital in Dhaka.

Police are looking into the incident, said OC Nur Alam Siddique of Ashulia Police Station.

Around 12:20am today, footage of muggers robbing two women travelling in a rickshaw did the rounds on Facebook. The caption mentioned that the incident happened in Mohammadpur.

Inspector Hafizur Rahman of Mohammadpur Police Station said, "We heard about the incident, but we don't know exactly where in Mohammadpur the crime happened."

Duty officers at both Adabor and Mohammadpur police stations said most of the senior officers were patrolling the streets as of around 3:00am.

In Badda, a security guard was arrested on charges of "attempted rape" of a seven-year-old girl.

The arrestee is Sabuj Ahmed, 53, said police.

Sabuj, is a resident of Anandanagar, said Badda Police Station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Islam.

The incident took place around 4:30pm on DIT Road in Merul Badda.

Quoting locals, the OC said the security guard of the building lured the victim to his room and tried to rape the child.

At that time, locals detained and beat Sabuj before handing him over to police.

The victim's mother filed a case under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act with the Badda Police Station, said the OC.

source; the daily star

Scottish Bangladeshi Welfare Association Celebrates International Mother Language Day in Edinburgh

The Scottish Bangladeshi Welfare Association (SBWA) is proud to announce its celebration of International Mother Language Day in Edinburgh. The event, held at Portobello, Edinburgh on 23rd February 2025, which truly promoted social cohesion and cross-cultural awareness between our community and others across Scotland. This initiative fostered stronger connections with diverse communities, encouraging linguistic diversity, multilingualism, and the preservation of mother languages worldwide.

In this multicultural festival, Honorable Chief Guest was Mr. Foysol Choudhury, MBE MSP who is the advisor of SBWA since it founded. In his speech he said “ It is important for our younger generations to embrace their mother language, as it not only helps to maintain cultural connections, but also plays a vital role in fostering inclusivity in society.”

The event saw participation from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, including Bangladeshi Scottish, Irish, English, French, German, Polish, African, Spanish, Japanese, Greek, and Indian performers and attendees. In his speech, The President of Scottish Bangladeshi Welfare Association, Mr. Ziauddin Khan Siddique (Sumon) said, “We are incredibly proud of this achievement and extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to making the event a success.”The Genearal Secretary of the organisation Mr. Khan Elahi urged to take necessary steps to establish a permanent ‘Shaheed Minar’ (Monument) in Edinburgh like other cities across the World (London, Paris, Lisbon, Toronto). Moreover, The Event management secretary of the organisation Mr. Nazim Ahmed thanked everyone including guests, performers & volunteers to make this program successful.

This organisation’s mission is to address and work on the key issues including the advancement of education, community development, arts, heritage, culture, science, social welfare, and health and wellbeing. Since it’s registration with the Scottish Charity Registry in April 2022, we have been committed to serving the community with dedication and compassion.

One step Ahead to Islamism

Bangladesh Calls To Remove "Secular" From Constitution. US Responds

The US State Department on Tuesday acknowledged Bangladesh's Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman's call for removing secularism from the country's Constitution, with spokesperson Matthew Miller responding to ANI's question on the matter during a press briefing.

This comes amid rising tensions following attacks on religious minorities in Chittagong.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "I'll take that back and see if we have anything to say about it," in response to ANI's question on Bangladesh's Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman advocating the removal of the word "secular" from the Constitution.

As mobocracy rules Bangladesh, law and order, human rights take a hit

Someone in Bangladesh claiming to be an Islamic joddha (fighter) has forwarded a Facebook post by Islamic Chatra Shibir (the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami) that claims responsibility for killing seven Hindus in the port city of Chittagong last week. 

The post claims "teaching Hindus in Chittagong the lesson they deserved because they had become too bold". It also calls on people to support “our Muslim army” which, it says, has got 200 Hindus arrested to be "taught the right lesson".

Anti-Hindu frenzy 

The attacks on a Hindu locality in Chittagong followed protests by Hindus in the city over a Facebook post by a local Muslim youth seeking a ban on ISKCON. During the protests, the police and army mercilessly attacked Hindus, alleged local community leaders.

India has urged Bangladesh's interim government headed by Nobel laureate Mohammed Yunus to take steps to stop the violence against Hindus and other minorities.

"We have observed that there have been attacks on the Hindu community in Chittagong. Their properties and business establishments have been looted. These happened following incendiary posts on social media targeting Hindu religious organisations," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

Yunus and Trump

Just before he won the US presidential election, Donald Trump had lashed out at the growing violence against minorities in Bangladesh. "I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos," he said in a post on Truth Social, an alt-tech social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group.

The Yunus administration has so far dismissed Indian concerns over growing attacks on minorities as "highly exaggerated”. But with Trump all set to take charge, he can no longer be in self-denial over the total lawlessness and anarchy prevailing in Bangladesh. 

Yunus promised the rule of law when he took charge of the interim administration, for which there is no provision in the Bangladesh constitution but which was apparently justified by the 'Doctrine of Necessity' that has often been used to justify military takeovers in Pakistan. 

Mobocracy rules Bangladesh

Since the installation of the interim government and the dissolution of parliament, steps the erstwhile Awami League dubbed illegal, a culture of mobocracy seems to have taken root in Bangladesh.

All high-level functionaries who could not be ousted legally have been forced to resign by mobs led by student leaders who ousted Sheikh Hasina. 

All vice-chancellors, pro-vice chancellors and even treasurers in 50 universities have been forced to quit by violent mobs led by the student leaders who have owned up to close links to radical groups like the Hizb-ut-Tahrir and Islami Chatra Shibir.

Mass forced resignations

According to media reports, 175 school headmasters have been forced to leave their jobs. Many of them were Hindus and quite a few of them were women. The mobs subjected them to visible humiliation. 

All Supreme Court and many High Court judges including the Chief Justice and Attorney General were forcibly removed by similar mob action. Thirty-three permanent secretaries and 11 ambassadors were axed well before the end of their tenures.

⁠Nearly 300 secretaries and additional secretaries and many more joint secretaries have been appointed without due process. There has been a wholesale reshuffle in banks and other top financial institutions, mostly arbitrarily.

NHRC goes due to unrest

Last week, all members of Bangladesh’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) resigned shortly after releasing a report on the rising mob fury. The NHRC, chaired by Kamal Uddin Ahmed along with members Md Salim Reza, Aminul Islam, Kongjari Chowdhury, Biswajit Chanda and Tania Haque, submitted their resignation letters to the president.

The NHRC resignations came just days after the release of a report detailing a sharp rise in mob violence and crimes such as beatings, rapes and political harassment. The report exposed violent attacks on political figures, contributing to growing concerns about human rights and safety in Bangladesh. The NHRC spokesperson confirmed the resignations but could not specify the reasons.

The political and communal unrest intensified following Hasina’s exit in August, worsening Bangladesh’s human rights scenario. The NHRC report, which underscored the escalating crimes and unrest, appears to have amplified the gravity of the situation, possibly prompting its members to step down. 

Vendetta as state policy

The increasing violence and political instability continue to shape the national landscape, posing significant challenges for the interim government.

Yunus' promised rule of law has been characterised by pursuit of vendetta as state policy. Nearly 200 cases, mostly related to charges of murder, have been filed involving over 200,000 Awami Leaders and activists. Some cases, like those against cricket icon Shakib Al Hasan and lawyer ZI Khan Panna, are downright frivolous.

Shakib, an Awami League lawmaker, was away playing cricket in Canada at the time of the crackdown on student protestors when the murder he is accused of happened. Panna supported the student protests but he criticised their later conduct. 

The irony is that the complainant in the murder case against Panna has admitted he doesn’t know the lawyer. The idea is to harass, intimidate and humiliate anyone opposing mobocracy.

Bangladesh: Then and now

Media censorship is enforced by a culture of terror and threat. Many journalists and editors have been framed in murder cases. 

Already, even leading Western publications are suggesting a change of national mood, with many saying that Hasina's times were better. The owner of two small shops, Hasina Jahan, attested to this feeling with her own plight.

"During Hasina's rule, we paid a monthly subscription of few hundred rupees a month to her party men. Now both my shops have been looted and I am ruined. I am surviving by giving tuition to school students and my sister is making a few bucks by escorting toddlers from well-off families to school," Hasina Jahan told  The Federal.

"We don't judge rulers by their politics but by our own experience. See the uncontrollable price rise now," she said, pointing out Yunus' failure to control the prices of essential commodities including food.

More protests

The student leaders and the Islamist radical groups they hail from have periodically taken to the streets to demand the ouster of President Shahabuddin Chuppu. Some have even called for the removal of army chief General Waqar-u-Zaman. 

Recently, one of the newly appointed advisors, Mahfuz Alam, pulled down the portrait of Bangladesh founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from Banga Bhavan, the seat of the presidency. 

Now, the student leaders appear to be upset with even some newly appointed advisors like film director Mostafa Sarwar Farooqi. If all this wasn’t enough, contradictions within the interim government are also beginning to surface.

ডানপন্থী ইসলামিক নেতারা"

বাংলাদেশিরা দুটি অংশে বিভক্ত। এক অংশ ভারতপন্থী, অন্য অংশ পাকিস্তানপন্থী। এদের সংমিশ্রনে যে জাতির উদ্ভব সেই জাতি হচ্ছে বাংলাদেশি জাতি।

এ দেশটি মূলত ছিলো ব্রিটিশ শাসিত ভারতের একটি প্রদেশ যার নাম ছিলো পূর্ব বাংলা ও আসাম। সেই সময় আসামের সিলেট অঞ্চল নিয়ে পূর্ব বাংলা ভারত থেকে সরে গিয়ে পূর্ব পাকিস্তান গঠন করে। এই পূর্ব পাকিস্তান গঠনের পিছনে অবদান ছিলো বাংলাদেশি একটা বড় অংশের।

এই পাকিস্তানপন্থী বাংলাদেশি অংশটি বাংলাদেশকে ভারতীয় নীতি, ভারতীয় সভ্যতা থেকে সরিয়ে নিয়ে পাকিস্তানের আদর্শে দেশ গঠনের জন্য সব সময় বাংলাদেশের ডানপন্থী রাজনীতির সমর্থন করে যায়।

যেখানে নেই মুক্তিযুদ্ধের কোন আদর্শ, নেই মুক্তিযুদ্ধের চেতনা, আছে পাকিস্তানের আদর্শ, পাকিস্তান প্রীতি।

বাংলাদেশের মুক্তিযুদ্ধের সময় দেশের ছাত্র-তরুনদের মধ্যে যারা দেশ স্বাধীনের বিরোধীতা করেছিলো তারা প্রায় সবাই মাদ্রাসার ছাত্র ছিলো। এরা করতো ইসলামি ছাত্র সংঘ যা জামায়াতে ইসলামীর একটি ছাত্র সংগঠন ছিলো। পরবর্তীতে যার নাম হয় ছাত্র শিবির। এরা তখন পাকিস্তানের প্রতিনিধিত্ব করতো বাংলাদেশে। এখনও তাই করে।

Islamism

And you are putting IS slogans on the top!

Is this Islamism?

Symbol of Islamic Fundamentalism! Hijab on Sculpture!!

A group of inslamists placed a hijab on the female figure of the Raju Memorial Sculpture at Dhaka University late on Sunday, prompting the university administration to announce the formation of an investigation committee to identify those involved.

According to witnesses, several youths, wearing masks, arrived on motorbikes, placed the hijab on the sculpture, and quickly left.