In Bangladesh, protesting ethnic minority students were attacked by other student groups and local people in the capital Dhaka on Wednesday night. More than a dozen, mostly students belonging to different ethnic minority communities, were injured in an attack in presence of the police. Among the injured were several female students.
The protesting group, “Aggrieved Adivasi Students” took out a procession in front of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) Bhavan, Dhaka, demanding reinstatement of the graffiti with the term “Adivasi” in textbooks.
Recently, the NCTB removed the graffiti from the back cover of the Bangla grammar book for the Classes of IX and X, following pressure from the “Students for Sovereignty”.
The confrontation began when two groups — one supporting and the other opposing the inclusion of “Adivasi” graffiti in textbooks — faced off during their respective demonstrations.
Tensions escalated around 11:45pm on Wednesday when “Aggrieved Adivasi Students” reached the site. A physical altercation ensued, forcing police to intervene and create a buffer between the groups. Despite this, violent clashes broke out shortly after, leaving multiple individuals — including several women — injured. Some of the injured were hospitalized at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, writes Dhaka Tribune newspaper.
In separate statements, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Party of Bangladesh, Ganosamhati Andolan, Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum, Chittagong Hill Trek Pahari Chhatra Parishad and more than 500 citizens condemned the attacks and demanded immediate legal action and re-inclusion of the graffiti.
The interim government led by prof. Muhammad Yunus on Thursday has strongly condemned Wednesday’s attack on a peaceful gathering by a group of ethnic minority students in front of NTCB bhavan in Dhaka. The government has ordered an investigation into the attack, and two persons have already been arrested in this connection, said Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary.
