An exhibition of photographs depicting the War of Independence and mass uprisings in Bangladesh has begun at Dhaka’s Shahbagh. The organisers hope the show will foster the spirit of the Liberation War in today’s generation.
Human rights activists Sultana Kamal, Liberation War Museum Trustee Sarowar Ali and photographer Shahidul Alam inaugurated the exhibition, organised by the Ganajagaran Mancha, at 4pm on Friday in front of the National Museum.
Spokesperson Imran H Sarker and other Ganajagaran Mancha members were present at the inauguration.
The opening was delayed by an hour because of objections by the police.
A large crowd had gathered hours before the show formally opened. Writer and journalist Shahriar Kabir was one of the visitors.
The exhibition, named ‘Itihaser Portrait’ [The Portrait of History], includes the works of several photographers depicting the mass uprising of 1969 and the Liberation War in 1971.
The exhibition, jointly mounted by The Mancha, the Liberation War Museum and a multimedia group, Drik, will remain open to the public every day till July 30 from 3pm to 10pm.
Among the veteran photographers whose works feature here are Rashid Talukder, Jalaluddin Haider, Mohammad Shafi, David Burnett, Kishor Parekh, Bal Krishnan, Mark Godfrey and several others.
Ain O Salish Kendra Executive Director Sultana Kamal said, “Photographs bring history back to life, helping the new generation get feel of the nation’s past.”
“This is another medium besides books that will introduce the Liberation War to young people,” Kamal said.
This exhibition will also remind the wartime veterans of the harrowing time they had lived through, she said.
Imran H Sarker said the exhibition was delayed by an hour because of objections by the police.
“Our volunteers were working since morning and preparing the venue. The police came when they had gone to take part in Juma’h prayers. The men from the Shahbagh Police Station removed several things from the assembly venue.”
He said police had raised objections, although the exhibition had been cleared by the relevant authorities.
However, Shahbagh police Inspector MA Jalil told bdnews24.com that they had gone there to ask the organisers not hold programmes on the streets. “But we did not obstruct their function.”
Students and online activists had begun a movement on February 5, protesting the life imprisonment given to Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla, which they termed ‘lenient’. The movement later spread across the country as the place of the mass protest took the name Ganajagaran Mancha.
After calling off the continuous sit-in protest on February 21, the Mancha activists have been thronging Shahbagh on the eve of verdicts on war crimes, and demanding a ban on Jamaat.
Source: Bdnews24