Bangladesh Student Unrest Over ‘Tribal’ Textbook Controversy

Motijheel, Bangladesh : Muslim students brutally attacked minority Buddhist students in the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka. The attack took place in Motijheel at around 1 pm on Wednesday in protest against the removal of a photo containing the word “tribal”. Minority students were severely beaten with sticks regardless of male and female. Many students’ heads burst and bleed. Witnesses saw several people being taken to hospital after the attack. But what is even more surprising is that the police were present at the scene during the Islamic Jihadi attack. But the police practically play the role of silent spectators. 

It has been reported that the word “tribal” is used in a picture on the back cover of a Bengali grammar and composition textbook for class 9 and 10 students. The artwork depicts a tree with five leaves, each leaf inscribed with a word for a religious or ethnic community in Bangladesh – Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist and “Adivasi”. Next to the picture was written “no tearing of leaves”.

The picture was removed from the online version of the book after members of “Students of Sovereignty”, an organization of Bengali Muslims living in hilly areas, besieged the premises of the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, or NCTB, on January 12. Following this, an organization of ethnic minority students protested in front of the NCTB at 11 am on Wednesday. A rally was announced under the banner of “Adivasi Chhatra” against the removal of the photo. “Students for Sovereignty” simultaneously announced a counter-protest in front of the same building. 

According to the announcement, tribal students gathered at the foot of Raju Memorial Sculpture of Dhaka University on Wednesday morning. Later, they headed towards Rokeya Hall and marched past Arts Faculty and Madhu Canteen and surrounded the NCTB building. Around 11 am, the Students for Sovereignty militants took position in front of the NCTB building in Motijheel. Meanwhile, when angry tribal students arrive, tension rises. Muslim students jumped on them with sticks  Adivasi students were severely beaten by Muslims The police stood between the two groups only blowing whistles and watching the attack on the tribal students. 

As the police tried to keep the two sides away from each other, a group of Muslim student organization Students for Sovereignty again attacked the tribal students with sticks. The massive beating led to the disbandment of the group of tribal students and was later seen moving towards Dainik Bangla Mor. Students for Sovereignty took a stand in front of the NCTB building with batons. Alic Mro, an organizer of the protesting tribal students, later said, “The students of Students for Sobriety attacked us. Eleven people were injured. On the other hand, Muhammad Ziaul Haque Zia, convener of Students for Sobriety, said, “Fourteen students of Students for Sobriety were injured in the tribal attack.” 

Mro said during a rally of tribal students agitating at the Raju sculpture, “They removed the graffiti under the pressure of a group of separatists. And they call us separatists. Is NCTB a puppet of the state or is it run by the government? We are citizens of Bangladesh. We have rights as you have. But they try to turn it around and call us separatists.” Demanding reinstatement of the picture in textbooks, he said, “From now on, tribals should get their due status in textbooks.”

Dhaka University student Muhammad Muhiuddin Rahat, the joint convener of Students for Sovereignty, said, “Since 2007, the small ethnic groups of the Chittagong Hill Tracts have been claiming to be ‘tribals’, but they are not.” They came from different regions and co-existed with Bengalis in our land. ‘Aboriginal’ refers to indigenous people. But the original land of small ethnic group of Chittagong Hill Tracts is located in neighboring countries like Myanmar, India, Cambodia, Thailand etc.