JU students burn effigy in protest of Shibir’s DU exhibition

A group of students from Jahangirnagar University (JU) burned an effigy symbolising razakars in protest of Islami Chhatra Shibir's exhibition on the anniversary of July Uprising at Dhaka University (DU), which featured photos of convicted war criminals.

Around 9:30pm yesterday, under the banner of progressive students, the protesters brought out a torch procession from the university's Bot-tola area.

During the march, students were shouting slogans such as "Hasina ar Nizami -- gonohottar ashami" and "Jamaat-Shibir-Razakar, ei muhurte Bangla chhar".

The procession moved through the campus before returning to Bot-tola, where the students set fire to an effigy and held a brief rally.

Speakers at the rally condemned the exhibition at DU, calling Shibir's display of convicted war criminals' photos "an affront to the spirit of the Liberation War."

"We are witnessing how the 2024 mass uprising is being pitted against the Liberation War of 1971. Just yesterday (Tuesday), Islami Chhatra Shibir at Dhaka University openly displayed photos of razakars," said Sohagi Samia, organiser of the Samajtantrik Chhatra Front, while addressing the rally.

"No matter how hard they try, anyone attempting to erase the history of our Liberation War will be wiped out from Bangladesh. Those who distort history or stand against it will have no place in this country," she added.

Leaders and activists from a faction of the Bangladesh Students' Union (JU unit) also joined the demonstration.