Excluding Lalon will endanger Bangladesh

It is becoming increasingly evident that fundamentalism is on the rise in an unsettled Bangladesh.

- ANGSHUMAN KAR

It is becoming increasingly evident that fundamentalism is on the rise in an unsettled Bangladesh. Just a few days ago, an attack was carried out on the stall of Sabyasachi Prakashan at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair for displaying books by Taslima Nasrin. Before the echoes of that incident had even faded, the Lalon Memorial Festival, scheduled to be held on 12 February 2025, in Madhupur, Tangail, was cancelled. Lalon Sangha, established in Tangail in 2017, has been organizing this festival every year. However, this year, the event was not held because Hefazat-e-Islam in Madhupur objected to it. To ensure the smooth execution of the memorial event, the organizers of Lalon Sangha arranged a meeting with Hefazat leaders on the afternoon of February 11, following threats from the group to stop the festival. But even that meeting failed to resolve the issue.

This is not the first time in recent history that a Lalon festival or memorial event has been halted in Bangladesh. A similar incident occurred in November of last year when the decade-long 'Lalon Mela' in Narayanganj was shut down. Once again, the threats came from Hefazat-e-Islam. The intensity of the threats was such that even after Lalon devotees had gathered at the fairground from various places, the district administration ultimately denied permission for the fair. The event was organized by Fakir Shahajalal, who later revealed in an interview with BBC Bangla that he had faced serious threats for attempting to organize the fair.

Hefazat-e-Islam justified their opposition to the Narayanganj fair with a bizarre claim: they argued that the event promoted "immoral culture." They also threatened to disrupt the fair by any means necessary if their objections were ignored. In response, cultural activists in Narayanganj organized counter-protests. However, their efforts were in vain, as the district administration refused to grant permission for the event, citing concerns over law and order.