'Cartoon highlights social injustices'

Cartoon is a powerful medium as it highlights social injustices and attacks the wrongdoers in a satirical tone, speakers at the inaugural ceremony of a cartoon exhibition said yesterday.
Cartoon speaks of the pains and protests of the people in a society and the practice of using cartoons indicates a healthy society, they said.
Transparency Interna-tional Bangladesh (TIB) organised the exhibition and the forth anti-corruption cartoon competition and prize giving ceremony at the Institute of Fine Arts, marking the International Anti-Corruption Day.
Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, vice chancellor of Dhaka University, inaugurated the six-day long exhibition at Zainul Gallery of the institute.
The cartoons, which received awards and special mentions, were put on display. The competition received a total of 472 entries under two age groups.
In the 13-18 age group, Ashim Chandra Roy, Syed Nafis Sadik and Khan Abdullah Taiuum received the first, second and third prizes respectively while Mehedi Haq, ASM Shahidullah Faruk and Nasrin Sultana Mitu became the first, second and third respectively in the 19-35 age group.
The award carries money, a crest and a certificate. Besides, 31 cartoonists from both the groups were awarded received special mentions. Prof Arefin handed over the awards.
Speaking as the chief guest, Prof Arefin said, "We make rules but don't follow them, which ultimately leads to corruption."
Proper education is the key to curbing corruption, he said, adding that the rate of corruption is comparatively low in those countries where the learners receive proper education.
"Cartoon is a medium of education and we have to use it to curb corruption," he said.
Noted educationist Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed said cartoon is not an easy subject; it resulted from extreme helplessness of the people.
He said cartoon is a medium of expressing pains and protest. It is also a form of attack against wrongdoers in a humorous way.
Prof Sayeed underscored the need to use cartoons more as a tool to combat corruption, saying that corruption is widespread in our society and that many people who are vocal against corruption are also resorting to corruption.
Eminent artist Prof Rafiqun Nabi said cartoonists are playing an active role in curbing corruption.
Cartoon is also a risky medium, as a little mistake can mislead the people as well as ruin the career of the cartoonist, he said.
"Saying 'no' to corruption or drawing anti-corruption cartoons is not enough to curb corruption. We have to be careful that we will not resort to corruption and will not allow others to do so," he said.
Talking to reporters, TIB Chairman M Hafizuddin Khan stressed the need for political will to curb corruption.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said they have been trying to combat corruption through using the language of cartoons for the last four years.
The anti-corruption cartoon exhibition will remain open from 12:00 noon to 8:00pm daily up to December 16.