Student's protest in Bangladesh ( Picture credits: Reuters) KOLKATA: The "savebangladeshstudents" and "#solidaritywithBangladesh" hashtags have been trending on social media in both opar and epar Bangla. People in India are now actively sharing poignant verses, striking placards, and heart-wrenching photographs of student martyrs on timelines to convey their profound concern regarding the tumultuous anti-quota demonstrations in Bangladesh.
Author Sambit Basu asserts that the magnitude of this protest is so immense that people in epar Bangla have transcended the trivial matters of love-hate politics and are demonstrating their unwavering solidarity. "Merely two months back, there were campaigns to boycott Indian goods in Bangladesh. However, all of that becomes inconsequential when I think about the young students who lost their lives in the recent protests. That's precisely why I created a poster in Bangladesh's flag colours with the lines 'ei mrityu upotoka amar Bangladesh na (this plateau of death is not my Bangladesh)'," Basu said.
On last Thursday, filmmaker Debalina delved into her archival social media posts and re-shared a few poignant lines she had written on Hiroshima Day in 2018. The verses, penned in Bengali, were a visceral reaction to Dhaka's road safety protests in 2018. According to Debalina, these lines bear profound resonances with the contemporary zeitgeist. "Alongside my words in Bengali, I also included the English translations by Abhro Banerjee that went like: 'not safe, not safe, we are/ be it home, near or far/ batons, bullets are all here now/ to kill our voice, wreck our vows/ ditch all borders, come all countries/ beyond barbwire, come take to the streets/ I no longer care, have no other address/ if violence has a map then I'm Bangladesh'," she told TOI.
Debalina has often endured criticism for exhibiting camaraderie with Bangladeshi Muslims. "Due to my refugee background, I possess a profound emotional affinity with Bangladesh. However, I have witnessed people raising eyebrows when Bangladeshi Muslims have visited and resided with me. Yet, all this fails to deter me. The recent incident is so appalling that I felt compelled to raise my voice and stand in solidarity with the students," she affirmed.
Photos of 15-year-old Tahmid Tamim, a student of class nine at Nasima Kadir Molla High School and Homes, and 25-year-old Abu Sayeed of Rangpur's Begum Rokeya University, whose life was tragically cut short by bullets, have been extensively shared on social media platforms. Abu Sayed, a prominent organizer of the quota reform movement, sustained severe injuries when police discharged rubber bullets to thwart a group of protesters from entering the BRU campus. Director Amit Sen shared a sketch of Sayeed standing steadfast with his arms outstretched. Srijani Lahiri, a teacher by profession, shared a poster of protesters with the poignant lines "lakho shohider rokte kena deshta karor baaper na' (the country, liberated by the sacrifices of lakhs of martyrs, doesn't belong to anyone's father) on Facebook. Lahiri appended it with a heart-wrenching comment by Sayeed's mother, saying "tui mor chhayak ke chakri na dibu na de kintu marlu kyane" (not giving a job might be a prerogative but why did you take away my son's life). "Throughout history, when it comes to societal reform or defying a tyrannical state, Bengal and particularly its students have consistently played a pivotal role. Abu Sayed's martyrdom serves as a poignant testament to this fact. Hailing from a lower-middle-class family, he dreamt of securing a job and building a prosperous future for himself and his loved ones. I feel he displayed unwavering courage standing in front of the bullets," Lahiri told TOI.
Describing Sayeed’s untimely demise as "an ignominious stain on the entire student community in Bangladesh," she added, "We, the brothers and sisters of our neighbouring country, share an equal sense of shame and remorse. As a community, what solace can we offer to Abu's bereaved mother? We have failed him. If we continue to remain silent, believing that it doesn't directly impact us, we should refrain from identifying ourselves as members of an educated and conscientious society."