Progressive students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) held a torch rally to protest the attacks and persecution of Bauls, Fakirs and Sufis across the country and to demand the release of Baul Samrat Abul Karim.
On Monday around 8:30pm, students gathered in front of the central Shaheed Minar at the university under the banner “Jahangirnagar Against Persecution.”
The rally proceeded along the road adjacent to the administrative building and Kamal Uddin Hall, ending at Bot Tola area, where a brief assembly was held.
At the assembly, Imran Hasan Shuvo, Education and Research secretary of the JU Students’ Union, said: “Until 5 August, two groups were active in the country. But after 5 August, politics of division started here. Gradually, Hindus were segregated, Sufis were segregated, Bauls were segregated, and Qadianis were segregated. We do not want a country of such divisions, and we strongly protest it.”
Faiza Mehjabin Priyonti, president of the Cultural Alliance, added: “We have gathered today to demand the release of Baul Abul Karim and to protest the attacks on Bauls across the country. We are truly exhausted by what we have seen since 5 August 2024 — repeated attacks on shrines, and persecution of those with different beliefs, including Bauls and Sufis, whose hair and beards have been forcibly cut.”
She further said: “These attacks on personal freedom and differing beliefs were never acceptable in a country that once valued freedom of expression. Sadly, not a single attack over the past year has been properly investigated or brought to justice by this interim government. We are again witnessing a precedent of impunity reminiscent of a fascist regime, and we condemn it in the strongest terms.”
